Going green for beginners

Get started with these eight easy ways to be more environmentally friendly

Read time: 4 minutes

Going green can be overwhelming when you’re first starting out. Where do you begin? Start with small, manageable habits and increase them over time. Here’s a quick list to help you get started.

Recycle

Recycling conserves natural resources, reduces pollution and saves energy. Check with your city on which items you can recycle at home. If they don’t take something, like glass for example, find a recycling center to take them to.

Donate used goods

As the saying goes, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” Give your unwanted items a new life and donate them instead of throwing them away.

Shop second-hand stores

While you’re dropping off your used goods, take a look around. You might be surprised what you find. Giving a household item a second life cuts its carbon footprint in half.

Switch to LED lightbulbs

LED lights use 75% less energy and last 25 times longer than incandescent lightbulbs. You don’t have to replace all of your lightbulbs at once, but you can upgrade them over time as the old ones burn out.

Start composting

If you live in a home with a yard, set up a spot to turn your food and yard waste into valuable soil amendment. You can compost just about any food item except meat, bones and dairy products.

Ditch the paper and plastic

Disposable things like paper plates, plastic plates and utensils, paper towels and napkins fill up landfills everywhere. Lower the gas emissions from the making and disposing of these products by only using reusable ones.

Be picky with personal hygiene products

Avoid buying toothpaste, body wash and face scrub that have microbeads. They’re usually advertised as an exfoliating agent. These microbeads are small bits of solid plastic that don’t break down and get worked into the water system.

Unplug unused electronics

Electronic devices that are plugged in but not turned on use “vampire” energy. Many electronics use standby power to cut down the warm-up time. Some things won’t be convenient to plug and unplug often, so make it a habit with the ones that are.