Five simple swaps for a more eco-friendly home
We all know that reducing our carbon footprint is important and one place we can really make a difference is in our homes. The average household in the UK produces more than a tonne of waste each year. To put that into perspective, that is the weight of an adult polar bear!
Thinking about the environmental impact of everything in your home is overwhelming. With so many products claiming different benefits, it’s difficult to cut through the jargon and understand what is truly the best option. There are some obvious choices; reusable shopping bags, no plastic straws etc but rather than list the ones you already know, I’ve created a short list of simple, easy to implement swaps to make your home more sustainable right now!
I’ll be using this blog to highlight environmentally-conscious products in interior design and our homes so keep your eyes peeled for more useful tips and tricks.
Here are 5 tried and tested swaps you can make in your home that will reduce the amount you put in your bins without negating on style.
Use Etsy businesses like Charlie Rose Vintage to purchase design-conscious, refillable bottles
Just add water
More than 90% of a typical bottle of cleaning product is simply water. Buying these products without the water added has a number of environmental benefits:
Reduces their volume, reducing the amount of transportation needed to get them round the world
Reduces their weight, reducing fuel and carbon emissions
Reduces plastic packaging
Splosh offer a good range including laundry detergent, hand wash and shower gel, delivered as concentrates in refill pouches. Once you’ve used the pouches, you can send these back to be refilled or reprocessed.
Most of these brands offer ‘lifetime’ refillable containers - they’ll replace any broken parts - meaning no plastic waste! For a more design-conscious approach, use these glass bottles and personalised labels. These are easy to find on Etsy and many sustainably-minded businesses.
Why is this so important?
Residue left from home and personal care products means these bottles get ‘down-cycled’ instead of recycled. Rather than being recycled into another bottle, they get turned into other items like clothes. However when they come to the end of their life, they end up in landfill.
If everyone in the UK switched to these closed loop systems for home and personal care products, we would save around 1 billion plastic bottles every year!
2. Zero waste food shopping
Reduce food packaging and food waste by seeking out local shops offering zero-waste or minimal packaging. Over the past few years these shops have popped up all over the country and this quiet revolution is being noticed by big brands. Waitrose is trialling a ‘bring your own’ container trial at 4 stores. I’ve personally found it a cheaper alternative to most pre-packaged foods including herbs and spices.
Growing your own food is another option to avoid unnecessary packaging. As long as you have a window sill, you can grow herbs year round, saving you lots of £££.
Pebble Mag has a long list of zero waste shops across the UK if you’re unsure where your closest one is.
3. Reusable coffee pods and pour overs
Most popular espresso maker companies offer recycle schemes but a new product has recently found popularity - the refillable coffee pod. SealPod offer reusable stainless steel pods compatible with Nespresso machines.
Why are these better than recyclable coffee pods?
Recycling your coffee pods involves transportation of the used coffee pods and energy to convert them into a new product. Nespresso figures show approximately 70% of their capsules are not being recycled. Refillable pods only require you to dispose of the old coffee granules and clean before using again.
Another option if you love fresh coffee is using a pour over coffee maker without filters. Bodum offer a stainless steel filter which is super easy to clean.
Other benefits:
Fresh coffee - coffee in single-use pods can be sitting on the shelves for months and months Freshly ground coffee offers the best flavour and quality.
Value for money - over their lifespan, they are more cost-effective than single use
Used coffee grounds are a great plant fertiliser
Bodum’s pour over coffee maker that uses a stainless steel filter
4. Eco-tipples
This one might seem a bit left-field however, there are some exciting innovations in the drinks industry.
Last year I went to a talk and was introduced to Garçon Wines who have developed these amazing letterbox wines which have a substantially lower carbon footprint than the traditional wine bottle. Wine bottles are not the first thing that comes to mind when you think of planet polluting packaging but round glass wine bottles are heavy, spatially inefficient and energy-intensive.
They have come up with a design that doesn’t compromise on style. Their bottles are 100% recycled using pre-existing plastic previously destined for landfill. Not only that, they are smaller and lighter than the typical round glass wine bottle and fit through your letterbox meaning no missed deliveries. By using recycled PET bottles, carbon emissions are reduced across the supply chain. Compared to traditional bottles, over 2 times more bottles can fit on a pallet. More wine is always a win.
Due on the market in 2021 is the world’s first gin in a paper-based bottle. The new eco-friendly bottles, a partnership between Frugalpac and Silent Pool Distillers, can be recycled and has a carbon footprint up to six times lower than a glass bottle.
For the all-important tonic, the team at Aarke have redefined the home appliance game with their refined, minimalist products. Their carbonators are a serious upgrade on the bulky plastic at-home sparkling water machines. I’m loving the matte black version. With a range of flavours, it removes the need to buy plastic and glass bottled carbonated drinks.
A selection of Letterbox Wines
5. Composting
Okay, not the most exciting tip but making using a compost bin set up for food waste is an important sustainable practice. Composting can be done in almost any setting - from indoor bins in flats to outdoor piles in large back gardens.
Benefits:
Significantly cuts down the amount of waste in landfill and reduces carbon emissions to transport to landfill
Can act as a natural fertiliser for plants
Can help remove carbon from the atmosphere
