Aditya Ruia lists five ways to make your home sustainable and eco-friendly
With climate change, global warming and deforestation becoming the realities that we are faced with, people are growing more concerned about the future of the planet. With constant conversations about deforestation, plastic pollution, our carbon footprint and how the quality of life for future generations will be compromised because of the environmental damage caused, the concept of an eco-friendly lifestyle is becoming paramount.
Everyone is now willing to take steps towards making this planet a better place for our communities and generations to come. Charity begins at home. Since our home is where we spend most of our time, it is the best place to start.
Can we make our urban homes eco-friendly without calling an architect or causing major lifestyle changes? The answer is yes. It is about taking small steps every day, making slight switches and changing some habits that can make any home eco-friendly and sustainable.
Without further ado, here are a few small yet practical ways in which you can make your home sustainable and eco-friendly:
Reduce plastic waste
Every person generates around 500-800 grams of solid waste every day. Managing such vast quantities of waste, especially plastic, has become a pressing issue for the country.
While going to zero plastic in one shot may not be possible, we can start by taking small steps such as gradually replacing plastic containers with ceramics, steel or glass to store and cook food. While you are at it, also replace the household garbage bags with compostable garbage bags and carry an eco-friendly cloth bag when picking up vegetables, fruits or snacks.
Reducing plastic is one of the ways to make your home eco-friendly that is also good for your overall health.
Reuse household items
When you are replacing plastic containers with glass ones, look around to see if there are any jars or objects you can repurpose before running to the store. Empty coffee jars make excellent containers for spices and powders, for instance. Similarly, when before buying new furniture, think of eco-friendly ways to spruce up the house.
Daily items such as disposable coffee cups and tissues are easy for us to use but harm the environment. But, there is an easy way to deal with this, switch to reusable coffee cups and bamboo tissues or cloth napkins which you can use again and again.
Opt for upcycled products
Products you choose for your home go a long way towards reducing your carbon footprint on the planet. To start small, replace plastic cutlery and daily essentials such as toothbrushes with upcycled bamboo toothbrushes and cutlery that has 0 per cent negative impact on nature.
Choose furniture made from recycled wood or other materials that might otherwise go to a landfill or be thrown away. To give your home an aesthetic yet sustainable upgrade, go for older antiques instead of showpieces made of plastic or metal.
Switch to green power
Green energy refers to the energy generated from natural resources such as wind, sun, biomass and water that can be naturally replenished, unlike fossil fuels. Moving away from the traditional sources of energy is a key step to combat climate change.
Now, choosing green power does not mean that you have to change your electricity provider. It refers to making small changes such as replacing regular lights with LED or CFL bulbs as much as possible and installing solar photovoltaic panels on your roof to heat water.
Switch to green appliances
Appliances usually consume a huge amount of energy; it is ideal if we could take advantage of technological innovations and shift to more energy-efficient appliances. They can help us save energy and money, along with protecting the environment.
So, when it’s time to get a new refrigerator, a washing machine or any new appliance, look for the products that meet a high level of energy efficiency. Check the ‘star label’ on the appliance to get the details of the efficiency of the product along with various other particulars. This will allow you to compare models and choose the best one in terms of energy efficiency.
It is now more important than ever to adopt an eco-friendly lifestyle. While some people feel that making changes in our homes to be more environmentally conscious will not make a difference, these will, if we rally together on this.
(The author is the co-founder of Beco, an Indian eco-friendly home, kitchen, and personal care brand.)