How You Can Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

Climate change is a global challenge that can be solved. Although it can be overwhelming, there are real solutions that we can adopt. Some of the practical solutions involve day to day choices that you can make to reduce your carbon footprint. This guide is going to walk you through some of the decisions you need to make.

Eat Less Meat

Rearing cattle involves the consumption of 11 times more water and the production of 5 times more gas emissions than the statistics in poultry farming. You don't have to avoid eating meat, but you can help the environment by eating less meat.

Drive Less

Navigate the city using a bus, a bike, or a train when you can and choose to leave your car at home. This decision drives immediate impact to the environment. Cities are now building infrastructure that makes it easier for people to use alternative transport means like bicycles. Cities are also becoming friendly to pedestrians with more green zones and new building designs that focus on community engagement.

Unplug Devices

As long as electric appliances are in a socket, they continue to use electricity even if the switch is off. Cords draw energy from the power outlet although your device may not be charging. So, to reduce your carbon footprint, the simple solution is to unplug your electronics and only plug them in when you want to use them.

Plant a Garden in Your Home

Planting greens is a sure way to reduce your carbon footprint. Since plants absorb carbon dioxide, a few trees, and some bee-friendly flowers can clean up the carbon in your environment. If you stay in an urban area, plant canopy gardens. Since metropolitan cities tend to be hotter than the rural areas due to concrete buildings, vast pavements, and increased human activity, trees, grasses, and gardens can provide better cooling.

Eat Organic and Local

Try eating local foods instead of promoting the shipment of foods from another continent. When you eat vegetables or fruits grown from your backyard, the environmental cost is minimal. Imagine the logistics of shipping food products from another country; the food product may arrive by plane, train, truck, or ship. Additionally, avoid eating processed foods because they can affect your health and the environment.

Conserve Waterways

Approximately 96% of the water is salty for human consumption, while two-thirds of the freshwater lake remaining is locked in glaciers, polar ice, and snow. Melting them will not make a difference because the water will end up in the sea. That is why we need always to conserve the water we access.

The following tips can help:

• Shut off the water while brushing your teeth. Only turn it on when you want to rinse your mouth.
• Take approximately 5 – 10 minutes in the shower.
• Avoid flushing things down the toilet.
• Participate in your local water cleanup exercise. Remove plastics from the water system.
   

To learn other ways of reducing your carbon footprint, call Metro Waste today at 08 8443 8827 or visit our website to learn more about the services we provide.