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Three Ways to Have a Sustainable Lifestyle

Three Ways to Have a Sustainable Lifestyle

Making your lifestyle more sustainable doesn’t have to be difficult and complicated. With these three lifestyle changes, you can be more sustainable at home.    

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A person holding a blue recycling bin full of plastic and metal

1. Reduce your waste with RecyclingWorks

Did you know that the average American produces almost five pounds of waste per day, and that only 32.1 percent of that waste is composted or recycled? One of the most impactful ways that you can make your home more sustainable is to reduce how much you throw away.

You don’t need to go completely zero waste to make a difference (although that’s certainly an awesome goal to have), but you can look for small changes that you can make in your everyday life to reduce the amount of waste you produce.

<quote>" We don’t need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly." 

Anne Marie Bonneau, the Zero Waste Chef 

A great resource for Massachusetts residents is RecyclingWorks.com. This is a recycling assistance program funded by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and delivered under contract by the Center for EcoTechnology that helps businesses and institutions reduce waste and maximize recycling, reuse, and food recovery opportunities.

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2. Save energy at home & work

One reason saving energy is important to do is that you become more comfortable in your own home. For example, weatherization provide better comfort and fewer drafts, but it will also save you money on energy costs while making your home more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly. Many homeowners are dealing with higher energy bills year-round and do not realize that proper weatherization techniques can permanently solve the problem.

Efficiency Programs for home & business

Improved energy efficiency will shrink your carbon footprint with the immediate benefits of reduced energy bills and improved business performance. The Center for EcoTechnology is a great resource for businesses or property owners who are looking to increase their energy efficiency, often with little or no up-front costs.

They can help you and your business navigate the incentives, prioritize opportunities and make plans for future equipment upgrades.

3. Buy & donate reused home goods 

Thinking of redecorating your space? Choose reused! Secondhand furniture is the most sustainable choice because it prevents perfectly useable items from being wasted, reduces demand for new, resource-intensive materials, and promotes a circular economy. In addition to being great for the planet, reused furniture is already proven to be durable and high-quality, not to mention unique and full of character. As an added bonus, shopping for furniture secondhand is usually much more affordable than buying new. Check out EcoBuilding Bargains for a wide selection of affordable, high-quality antiques and secondhand home goods in good condition at great prices. Reused home goods are perfect for DIY projects to add to your home. See our other blog posts for inspiration.

Two men loading a kitchen cabinet into a truck

When a home is remodeled or demolished, most of the time its old building materials are thrown away. This doesn’t have to be the case! Many of the building materials that are currently trashed can be salvaged and used again in another project. Through a process called deconstruction, contractors and builders can save useable building materials instead of trashing them. Then, they can reuse those materials in future projects or make a tax-deductible donation to a reuse store like EcoBuilding Bargains. If you live in the Northeast Corridor and are planning any home renovation or demolition projects, contact our store. If you live outside of the Northeast, research local reuse stores or other outlets that accept donated building materials.  

These three pieces of advice are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to being more sustainable at home. Sometimes choosing a more sustainable lifestyle can feel overwhelming, but remember to reduce what waste you have, reuse what you can, and recycle or compost as much as you can.  

Next article What is a Circular Economy?

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