The pandemic caused the world to pause for a while. And this pause resulted in a drop in air pollution with major cities around the world imposing lockdowns to stem the spread of the coronavirus. Despite being temporary, it allowed the Earth to take a breath of fresh air and allowed nature to recover.
While you may have contributed to this improvement in air quality by staying off the road, you can do more to take care of the environment even if you’re staying at home. Here are some ways you can help the environment while staying home.
Recycle Whenever Possible
The first thing you can do is to recycle whenever possible. Reducing the amount of waste you send to the landfill is among the best ways for you to contribute to environmental protection, and you do not even have to leave the house.
Many of the products you have at home can affect the environment. But if you reuse plastic and other materials, you’ll end up reducing the harmful emissions that normally come from the landfill. Additionally, you’ll also reduce your carbon footprint and lowers the number of natural resources needed to produce new products.
Compost
While you can recycle plastic and other similar products, you cannot do the same with organic material. Well, there’s a solution for this, you can make a compost pit where you can put any organic waste materials you have at home. These materials include tea bags, vegetable scraps, and even the leaves your rake on your lawn. Composting these materials allows you to make a rich soil conditioner that facilitates plant growth.
With the compost, you can make a vegetable garden in your backyard and grow organic vegetables. So, aside from reducing the amount of waste you throw away, you can also grow your food. And you’ll know the food that you have in your backyard does not contain any chemicals that may affect your health in the future.
Try a Plant-Based Diet
Since you already have a garden in the backyard, you may want to try a plant-based diet. You can take out that old recipe book you have in the cupboard and start cooking. Consuming antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables strengthens your immune system and reduces inflammation in the body. Additionally, a plant-based diet also reduces the risk of having diseases, such as stroke, diabetes, and even cancer.
But plant-based diets can also help the environment since food production, particularly animal products, is responsible for around 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, the production of meat and dairy products also uses up a lot of water resources. So, if you have a plant-based diet, you’ll reduce your meat consumption and help protect the environment.
Reduce Energy Usage
Since everyone is at home, energy consumption is expected to increase. But there are several things you can do to reduce energy consumption. The first thing is to set the thermostat at a comfortable level inside the house while keeping it close to the outside temperature. You can also replace old incandescent bulbs with LEDs. While the initial cost is high, LEDs last longer and consume less energy than incandescent bulbs.
Making sure the lights in unused rooms are turned off is another way to reduce your energy usage. You can also make sure the temperature of the refrigerator and freezer is well-maintained. Ensuring the doors are closed properly in these appliances already allows you to reduce energy use. You can also insulate the water heater tank to reduce heat loss.
Reducing energy usage is important to reduce the volume of fossil fuels used in the power plants that supply electricity for your home. But there’s another thing you can do to reduce your dependence on the power grid. You can also shift to sustainable energy for your energy needs by looking for a set of solar panels available for sale online. Just make sure to hire a professional to install it in the house to avoid issues in the future.
Maximize Shelf Life of Products
Maximizing the shelf life of your food products is another way to help protect the environment. Extending their shelf life means you will reduce the chances that you’ll have to throw food away. To maximize their shelf life, you should reserve the coldest part of the refrigerator for food items that will easily spoil or the most perishable ones. You should also follow the first in, first out principle for food items that have a similar shelf life to avoid having to throw out food
Taking care of the environment does not always mean that you have to go out and raise environmental awareness in public. You can also protect the environment through simple yet effective ways while staying at home.
