Tag Archives: Recycling

Easy DIY Projects to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

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Personal responsibility seems to be taking preeminence in every area of our lives. As time goes by, people are advised to change how they act in response to society’s change. The same case applies to reducing your carbon footprint. It’s time that everyone is held accountable for their contribution to climate change.

The constant reminder of our contribution to the carbon footprint is the first step to reducing your carbon footprint. Reducing carbon footprint will also save you time, money, energy, reduce pollution and enjoy a healthy environment. Of course, it is easier said than done, but everyone has to play a part to achieve this goal. Read this guide to learn all about carbon footprint.

What is Carbon Footprint?

Carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gases, mainly methane and carbon dioxide, released directly into the atmosphere causing global warming.

How To Calculate Carbon Footprint

It is essential to calculate your carbon footprint to keep track of it and reduce it. There are calculators available online which will help you figure out your carbon footprint. Some of the standard data you will be asked about is:

  • The size of your home
  • Your diet
  • Mode of transport you use to run your daily business and for how long
  • The type of energy you use in your home

They may not be accurate enough since you’re using estimates, but they will give you a general idea about your carbon footprint and how to improve on it. So, here are the few DIY projects you can take to reduce your carbon footprint:

1. Recycle and Reuse to Reduce Waste

Your home is the first place where you can exercise recycling effectively to reduce your carbon footprint. If all of us can waste less and recycle more, this will be a massive step towards saving money and energy. Take note of the things that you use daily, which can be easily recycled. Some of these include:

  • Plastics
  • Paper
  • Glass
  • Aluminum

skip bins

You can also sell or donate some of the things you don’t need instead of wasting more of them in landfills. Other methods of recycling and reusing items in your home are:

  • Using old clothes as cleaning rags
  • Reusing your shopping bags instead of buying new ones
  • Buying recycled clothing
  • Reusing plastics

2. Use Energy Efficient Appliances

Even the smallest appliances can consume lots of energy. But don’t worry since there are simple but effective alternatives that you can use to reduce your home’s energy usage. These are:

  • Unplugging appliances that you’re not using like AC, charger, etc.
  • Switching off lights when you’re not using a room
  • Using LED light bulbs to save more energy
  • Using sustainable temperature control appliances like programmable thermostats and fans
  • Shift to solar energy

 

how to reduce energy bill

Try to use less energy in your home to reduce your carbon footprint. Talk to ac repair in Cherry Hill specialist to advise you on other innovative energy measures to take. They will also check your AC systems and do the necessary upgrades in your home to save more energy and reduce your utility bills.

3. Check on Your Water Usage

Water is one of the resources that you should safeguard at all costs. Most home systems receive water through pumping systems which consume a lot of energy. However, you can take simple DIY steps to save more water to prevent draining it into the environment. These include:

  • Harvesting water during the rainy season
  • Repairing faulty water leaks
  • Turning off the water when brushing or cleaning dishes
  • Reducing your bathing time

4. Use Alternative Transportation Methods

Are the errands that you need to run near your home? If so, consider using a bike or take a walk instead. By doing this, you will cut on the number of carbon emissions as you also keep healthy. Also, if you need to use a car, you can plan to complete all your errands in one day instead of several days.

green-travel

Also, if you have to use air travel, settle for the economy class other than first class. It is both cost-effective and has a lower carbon footprint on the environment.

5. Speak Up

One method of passing information is by speaking up. The more this information reaches the masses, the easier it will be to minimize carbon footprint. With the availability of the internet and social media, this is not too hard to achieve. You will be able to reach your family, friends, co-workers, etc. You can also participate in environmental volunteer programs to set an example for the rest. Words without action won’t have any impact.

Everyone has a personal responsibility to reduce their carbon footprint. All you need to do is follow the above tips to create a better and sustainable environment even for future generations.

Solid Waste Management in South Asia – Practical Action’s Experience

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Waste management systems can be divided into a number of steps from collection, storage, transportation, processing, treatment, recycling and final disposal. Integrated solid waste management refers to this entire process and aims to maximise resource use efficiency, with minimal amounts ending up in final disposal sites. During Practical Action’s recent work in the South Asia region, we have gained particular experiences in terms of waste collection, storage and transportation; and secondly waste processing in particular of organic waste.

Waste-Management-Bangladesh

Waste Collection and Transportation

In many cities, waste collection services fail to reach all areas of the town or city. People are left to manage their own waste, which they do by burning and burying it, or dumping on open spaces. Sometimes large bins or skips are provided but they may be irregularly emptied, and also overflow when the contents is picked over by waste pickers and animals.

In Bangladesh, in order to help increase the overall capacity for collecting household waste, Practical Action has promoted a door-to-door collection service run by local NGOs. Residents pay a service charge in addition to their municipal rates, but in return they receive a regular service, leading to a cleaner neighbourhood.

In Faridpur, the local NGO, WORD, with technical backstopping from Practical Action serves more than 5,000 customers with waste collection. There are three main types of customer, non-slum households, slum households and institutions. Slum-based households are charged the lowest tariffs (minimum BDT 10) while the institutional rate is highest (minimum BDT 150).

The numbers of slum households is small because the alternative option of localized composting (with a barrel system) was widely taken up. This is easier than collection through vans and is useful for slum people as they can use the compost later. Waste collectors use small rickshaw vans for the collection service. Recently we have also introduced small small rickshaw vans and small motorized versions for the collection service.

The waste is taken to a composting facility where it is sorted and the organic portion is separated for composting, and in some cases for generating biogas. In 2008, WORD started the waste collection business with only 525 customers. In the last 8 years, the number has increased more than tenfold (5,100 customer per month) making the solid waste management a viable business. It has not only contributed to a better living environment, but also generated green and dignified jobs for 21 waste workers.

The municipal conservancy department continues to play a regulatory and coordinating role through the Waste Management Steering Committee. This meets regularly to discuss any emerging issues and review the progress of door-to-door collection services. The conservancy department continues to manage the sweeping of streets and drains, and collection of waste from some areas of the town, from vegetable markets and slaughter houses. The only recycling and reuse of organic waste is done by WORD, as all municipal waste for now continues to be disposed at an open dumping site where no further treatment, sorting or reuse takes place.

In Nepal, Practical Action has facilitated organic waste management under a public-private partnership model. For example, in Butwal Municipality, a private firm, Marry Gold Concern, collects and manages wastes from 400 households with a monthly service fee of NPR 50 (GBP 0.33) in an area called Ramnagar. The company employs three operators for collecting and managing waste from low income communities. A compost plant has been set up which processes up to 10 metric tonnes of organic waste and generate 5 metric tonnes of compost per month. In addition, recyclable waste, mainly plastic, is sold to scrap dealers, creating another source of income.

Recycling and Disposal by Forming Associations and Enterprises

In Bangladesh, collection services have been organised through existing local NGOs. In Nepal, Practical Action has instead helped to form different groups of Informal Waste Workers (IWW) such as street waste pickers, waste segregators, pheriya (dry waste pickers), scrap owners and door to door collectors.

We have worked intensively  with IWW from five municipalities of Kathmandu Valley. We have facilitated the establishment of a IWWs association called Samyukta Safai Jagaran (SASAJA), and the first waste workers’ cooperative with the same name. These organisations have distributed identity cards to members to increase their recognition as an ‘official’ part of the waste management system. We provided basic safety equipment to 5,622 IWWs, including rain boots/shoes, gloves, masks, raincoats, windcheaters with trouser and wrapper, aprons, cap etc. to minimize health risks.

Basic safety equipment is essential to minimize health risks to informal recycling sector.

Basic safety equipment is essential to minimize health risks to informal recycling sector.

Following capacity building and skill enhancement training from Practical Action, many of the IWW group members have established waste-based enterprises. For example, plastic tearing (PET bottle and carton crushing or pressing) for recycling and reuse; paper recycling and mechanical composting of organic waste. This approach has been scaled up in other municipalities in Chitwan and Rupadehi districts reaching around 350 IWWs there.

Reducing Waste through Home Composting

In Nepal and Sri Lanka, and in some slum communities in Bangladesh, we have promoted barrel composting of organic waste. This has the dual benefit of producing compost locally which can be used for home gardening, and reducing the amount of waste that needs to be collected and disposed of elsewhere.

It can reduce the amount of organic waste coming in to the waste collection stream by about 20-30%. It requires community involvement in waste management system as well as frequent monitoring and troubleshooting. This process ensures source segregation of waste, a necessary condition for proper implementation of the 3R system (reuse, reduce and recycle).

Practical Action has distributed more than 2,000 compost bins in Sri Lanka. Especially in Galle, Kurunegala and Akkaraipattu cities where we have distributed about 1,500 home composting bins from 2006 to 2016. More than 65% of the bins are being regularly used.

Our experience shows that once a locality is provided with home composting, the volume of organic waste into the municipal collection system is reduced around 20-30%. However, this varies greatly by locations. If the local authority strictly monitors the compost bin usage and provides troubleshooting support, waste reduction can reach up to 30%.

Both Kurunegala and Galle municipal councils have upscaled the distribution of bins city-wide with the support of national government funding. This technology was taken up by the private sector and other municipal councils. It has been used widely in the country as a solution for reducing organic waste coming in to the waste collection system. For example, Kandy municipal council has adopted the technology with strict restriction on organic waste collection in the municipality collection system.

The Provincial Agriculture department in Kurunegala and the Coconut cultivation board in Akkaraipattu are both promoting organic agriculture with the usage of composting and are using Practical Action’s work as examples for expansion. The central government has provided seeds and fertilizer to city dwellers, including the urban poor, to promote home gardening.

This has been further expanded by Kurunegala municipal council which has distributed potted plants. Some of the vertical gardening structures promoted by Practical Action are now included in urban gardening models of the Western Province Urban Agriculture unit.

Can We Create Zero Waste?

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A zero waste society is something we all agree would be ideal. Imagine if everything used could be turned into a new product or go back into the earth. Several companies are moving their businesses into biodegradable containers, which means that maybe we can rethink landfills. Even Coca-Cola has said that by 2025, their bottles will be compostable, which could be a gamechanger.

biodegradable-containers

How Should We Change our Habits?

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in 2018, the average American produced 4.9lbs of waste per day. This number might not seem that high, however, calculate that figure for all of the US, and you are now looking at 292.4m tons. This number helps us understand the society we live in and the changes needed.

Why Recycling isn’t the Answer?

Most people think, “I’ve used a bottle, recycled it, and now I’ve done my part.” There’s a lot more to this, though. How was that bottle made? Plastics, as we know them, harm our environment. Zero waste means we don’t think about recycling. The product is simply gone or used.

Many of us believe that all plastic is recycled, and if that is the case, we will reach zero wastage. However, when we look closer, only a small percentage of these recycled products is used to create a new product. In other words, this is good for now, and in the future, we will be more resourceful.

The EPA’s strategy begins with the product life cycle. If each company considered how their product would be used and waste reduction, we could reach a zero wastage time sooner. Companies should therefore create either biodegradable or reusable packaging.

What is Composting?

Landfills require a lot of space and emit methane gasses into the air. Composting decreases wastage and aids plant growth. Composting requires you to take food scraps, which used to be considered garbage and turn them into a product.

benefits-composting

Vegetable scraps are ideal for composting as they can break down quite quickly. Using a three-stage composting bin, you can create rich soil, which is used as a fertilizer. If you don’t own a garden, there are often organizations that will request homemade compost.

Ways to Reach a Waste-free Society

As a consumer, we shouldn’t be using one-time plastic bags. We could opt for reusable material bags. Bring our coffee mugs when we want coffee on the go. When you buy takeout, have handy cutlery already on you, preventing you from using more plastic.

When you do your weekly food shopping, be mindful of what you will consume. By buying the right amount, you have already helped save the planet. If you find you bought too many vegetables, find a way to use them and freeze them for a future meal.

Our society makes us think that once we are seen in a clothing outfit, it’s old. T-shirts last for some time, and you don’t always need to replace mildly worn clothes. If the t-shirt is no longer “your style,” instead of throwing it away, donate it or give it to a friend. This will ensure it lives a bit longer. All these little changes can bring us toward a zero wastage life. There are many ways we can reach zero wastage. For more information, read more.

Why Recycling Can Help With Anxiety

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The kinds of products that one can recycle today is astonishing, as are the number of recycling services available across the country. Even folks living in more rural areas can typically reach a local recycling center in a matter of minutes where they can recycle plastics, cardboards, and glass.

Many grocery stores nowadays even have soft plastic recycling bins you can use to deposit used grocery bags, food wrappers, and other soft plastic material including netting and dog food bags. Recycling offers the opportunity for any individual to keep material out of landfills and reduce waste by turning old material into new products for reuse. But, it has other benefits too. Recycling is an excellent way to get organized and reduce anxiety around the house.

spring cleaning and anxiety

Spring Cleaning/Recycling can help reduce anxiety

If you’ve been feeling increased anxiety at home, take a look around the house. Sometimes a fresh start can help bring a sense of calm and clear headedness to your life. It may not be a cure-all for all of the anxiety you may be feeling, but a good spring clean may go further than you may think.

There is something to be said about walking into a room that is free of clutter and arranged in an inviting way. It increases a sense of pride in your home and your life, and makes room for your mind to focus on other things. It can stimulate productivity in other areas of your life, also. But how do you get started when the whole task of cleaning out and recycling seems a tad too overwhelming?

How to Get Started

Begin with one room at a time, tackling the easiest one first so you don’t get overwhelmed too quickly. This may be a room such as the pantry or office, or an extra bedroom. Decide how long you want to spend on each room, one weekend for example, and try your best to stick to your schedule. This process may fill you with anxiety at first, but once you get started you may begin to notice just how therapeutic the process really is.

Next you’ll need to create piles to sort your goods into: keep, trash, give away, and recycle. You can place these piles in each room or create a master pile somewhere inside or outside the house.

1. Keep Pile

This pile should be one of the smaller piles, believe it or not. It is reserved for items you absolutely need, use often, or has the highest sentimental value when compared to other items.

2. Sell Pile

Items in the sell pile are those with enough value not to throw away or recycle, but not worth holding onto because they are no longer needed or wanted. Use an online marketplace to sell them or do it the old fashioned way via a yard sale.

3. Give Away Pile

This pile is meant for all those items you love, but you really don’t need. These items you may have a hard time donating to strangers or recycling, but you may feel better about giving away friends or family. Examples of items appropriate for this pile could be gifts given to you that you’ve used seldomly, expensive items you no longer need or use but are hard to sell, or items with sentimental value.

4. Recycle Pile

Anything you can’t donate, sell, or give away should be considered for the recycle pile before going to the trash. Items that can be recycled include electronics of all kinds, paints, oils and other toxic substances, wood, yard clippings, plastic, metal, glass, soft plastics, cardboard and paper products, eyeglasses, and clothing.

Entrepreneurial Opportunities in Solid Waste Management

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Entrepreneurship in solid waste management can be instrumental in environment protection, decentralization, economic restructuring and job creation. Entrepreneurial opportunities in solid waste planning are available in the areas of waste collection, waste handling, waste sorting, waste storage, waste transport, waste transformation and energy recovery from waste.

Entrepreneurship begins with the generation of an idea and culminates in realization of the project objectives. Historically, the improvement of waste management services by the public sector has been hampered by lack of funds in both developed and developing nations.

entrepreneurship in waste management

Waste materials destined to be processed to generate electricity

Entrepreneurs can not only invest money in solid waste management sector, but also infuse new ideas, technologies and skills which can transform waste from being a liability into an asset. The efficiency of solid waste management increases with the involvement of entrepreneurs. Infact, it has been observed that involvement of entrepreneurs in solid waste management planning can reduce the service cost by half in Latin American cities with higher employment generation and vehicles productivity.

Entrepreneurial ventures in solid waste management can range from a one-man project to a mega-scale project involving thousands of skilled and unskilled workers. It has been observed that solid waste management is a labour-intensive process with tremendous potential to generate new jobs, depending on the type of project and the level of creativity. The major areas of entrepreneurial involvement include waste collection, transportation, reuse and recycling, upcycling and power generation.

waste-management-nepal

Basic safety equipment is essential to minimize health risks to informal recycling sector.

According to the World Bank, municipalities in developing countries typically spend 20 to 50 per cent of their annual budget on solid waste management, but only 40 to 70 per cent of solid waste is collected and less than 50 per cent of the population has access to municipal waste collection services.

Solid waste planning is an integral component of urban development as it contributes to public health, resource conservation and environment protection. Scientific disposal of domestic waste can prevent environmental degradation and harmful public health impacts while recycling can help in conservation of precious natural resources and energy.

Entrepreneurial activities in solid waste collection can not only increase waste collection efficiency but also improve waste management services for the marginalized sections of the society. An excellent example is the case of Nigeria-based Wecyclers which is aiming to building a low-cost waste collection infrastructure in Lagos by offering cheap and convenient domestic waste recycling services using a fleet of cargo bikes.

Easy 10 Steps Towards a More Sustainable Business

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Are you looking to make your business more sustainable? This is something that every business owner should be looking to do even during the discovery phase of project and it can bring a multitude of benefits in addition to the ethical reasons, so here are 10 of the best ways that you can go about doing this.

1. Eco-Friendly Products

First, you need to make sure that you are both producing and sourcing eco-friendly products and trying to reduce plastic use as much as possible.

steps-sustainable-business

2. Green Energy

Switching to a green energy provider is one of the most effective ways that you can reduce your impact, plus you can make huge energy savings over the long-term on your energy bills, so it is a smart financial move to make.

3. Encourage Cycling

It is important to encourage staff to use green forms of transport as opposed to driving. One way to do this is with bike parking outside of the office and to start a cycle to work scheme.

4. Reduce Food Waste

You should try to reduce food waste as much as possible and the best way to do this is to educate your staff on the importance of only bringing in what they need and using up spare food.

Food-Waste

5. Watch Water Usage

Water usage is another area to address and you will want to try to cut down on if possible, particularly when it comes to washing and cleaning.

6. Increase Recycling

Recycling is one of the best ways to be more sustainable but often an area where businesses could improve on. You can do this by educating staff on what they can and cannot recycle and making it easier for them to recycle items, such as placing recycling bins in the office.

7. Reduce Paper Usage

You should also try to minimize paper usage throughout the business. Where this is not possible, you should instead look to eco-friendly alternatives. As an example, you could have loyalty and business cards from eco-friendly supplier.

paper-free-office

8. Use Energy-Efficient Equipment

Switching to energy-efficient equipment is smart as it will reduce your energy consumption, which will also help to reduce your utility bills too.

9. Green Shipping and Delivery

Opting for green shipping and delivery can greatly reduce your impact and costs, which can be achieved through green packing materials, minimizing packing materials, and using compact packaging. Also, using a routing app will make delivery more efficient and fast, encouraging the use of bicycles, and reducing air pollution from cars and motorcycles.

10. Charitable Contributions

Business can also be more environmentally sustainable through charitable contributions, such as starting a promotion, donating a percentage of profits to charity or starting a fundraiser.

Hopefully, this post will inspire you to make positive changes to your business and play your role in preventing environmental damage.

Why Do We Need Solid Waste Management?

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Some countries have achieved considerable success in solid waste management. But the rest of the world is grappling to deal with its wastes. In these places, improper management of solid waste continues to impact public health of entire communities and cities; pollute local water, air and land resources; contribute to climate change and ocean plastic pollution; hinder climate change adaptation; and accelerate depletion of forests and mines.

Garbage_Bangalore

Compared to solid waste management, we can consider that the world has achieved significant success in providing other basic necessities like food, drinking water, energy and economic opportunities. Managing solid wastes properly can help improve the above services further.

Composting of organic waste can help nurture crops and result in a better agricultural yield. Reducing landfilling and building sanitary landfills will reduce ground and surface water pollution which can help provide cleaner drinking water. Energy recovery from non-recyclable wastes can satiate significant portion of a city’s energy requirement.

Inclusive waste management where informal waste recyclers are involved can provide an enormous economic opportunity to the marginalized urban poor. Additionally, a good solid waste management plan with cost recovery mechanisms can free tax payers money for other issues. In the case of India, sustainable solid waste management in 2011 would have provided

  • 9.6 million tons of compost that could have resulted in a better agricultural yield
  • energy equivalent to 58 million barrels of oil from non-recyclable wastes
  • 6.7 million tons of secondary raw materials to industries in the form of recyclable materials and livelihood to the urban poor

Solid waste management until now has only been a social responsibility of the corporate world or one of the services to be provided by the municipality and a non-priority for national governments. However, in Mumbai, the improperly managed wastes generate 22,000 tons of toxic pollutants like particulate matter, carbon monoxide, nitrous and sulfur oxides in addition to 10,000 grams of carcinogenic dioxins and furans every year. These numbers are only for the city of Mumbai. This is the case in cities all across the developing world. There are numerous examples where groundwater is polluted by heavy metals and organic contaminants due to solid waste landfills.

Solid waste management expenditure of above $ 1 billion per year competes with education, poverty, security and other sustainable initiatives in New York City. Fossil fuels for above 500,000 truck trips covering hundreds of miles are required to transport NYC’s waste to landfills outside the city and state. Similarly, New Delhi spends more than half of its entire municipal budget on solid waste management, while it is desperate for investments and maintenance of roads, buildings, and other infrastructure.

Solid waste management is not just a corporate social responsibility or a non-priority service anymore. Improper waste management is a public health and environmental crisis, economic loss, operational inefficiency and political and public awareness failure. Integrated solid waste management can be a nation building exercise for healthier and wealthier communities. Therefore, it needs global attention to arrive at solutions which span across such a wide range of issues.

The Importance of Waste-to-Energy in Solid Waste Management

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Waste-to-energy has been evolving over the years and there are many new developments in this technology, moving in mainly one direction – to be able to applied to smaller size waste streams. Not only is it a strategy that has real importance for the current public policy, it is a strategy that will definitely present itself to additional areas.

waste-management-energy

More than 50% of waste that is burnt in waste-to-energy facilities is already part of the short carbon cycle. In which case, it has an organic derivative and it doesn’t add to climate change, to begin with. The long form carbon that is burned, things like plastics that have come out of the ground in the form of oil do add to climate change. But, they have already been used once. They have already been extracted once and what we are doing is taking the energy out of them after that physical use, capturing some of that (energy), thereby offsetting more carbon from natural gas or oil or coal. So, the net effect is a reduction in carbon emissions.

Waste-to-energy and recycling are complementary depending on the results of analyses of the First and Second Laws of Thermodynamics, which are absolutely valid. One can decide in specific situations whether WTE or whether some type of recycling technology would be more appropriate. It is not an either/or option.

WTE_Plant_Belgium

Waste-to-Energy is now widely accepted as a part of sustainable waste management strategy.

In Austria, it was possible to have an absolute ban on landfilling wastes exceeding 5% organic carbon. This is written in law since 1996. There were some exceptions for some period of time, but landfills of organic wastes are just banned, not just in Austria but also in other cultures similar to Austria – like Switzerland, Sweden and Germany.

Note: This excerpt is being published with the permission of our collaborative partner Be Waste Wise. The original excerpt and its video recording can be found at this link

Municipal Solid Wastes in Bahrain

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Bahrain has the distinction of being one of the highest per capita municipal solid waste generators worldwide estimated to be more than 1.80 kg per person per day. Infact, Bahrain produces largest amount of waste per person among GCC countries despite being the smallest nation in the region. Rising population, high waste generation growth rate, limited land availability and scarcity of waste disposal sites has made solid waste management a highly challenging task for Bahrain’s policy-makers, urban planners and municipalities.

Bahrain_Wastes

Municipal Solid Wastes in Bahrain

Bahrain generates more than 1.2 million tons of solid wastes every year. Daily garbage production across the tiny Gulf nation exceeds 4,500 tons. Municipal solid waste is characterized by high percentage of organic material (around 60 percent) which is mainly composed of food wastes.

Presence of high percent of recyclables in the form of paper (13 percent), plastics (7 percent) and glass (4 percent) makes Bahrain’s MSW a good recycling feedstock, though informal sectors are currently responsible for collection of collection of recyclables and recycling activities

The Kingdom of Bahrain is divided into five governorates namely Manama, Muharraq, Middle, Southern and Northern. Waste collection and disposal operation in Bahrain is managed by a couple of private contractors. The prevalent solid waste management scenario is to collect solid waste and dump it at the municipal landfill site at Askar.

Askar, the only existing landfill/dumpsite in Bahrain, caters to municipal wastes, agricultural wastes and non-hazardous industrial wastes. Spread over an area of more than 700 acres, the landfill is expected to reach its capacity within the next few years. The proximity of Askar landfill to urban habitats has been a cause of major environmental concern. Waste accumulation is increasing at a rapid pace which is bound to have serious impacts on air, soil and groundwater quality in the surrounding areas.

Conclusions

The Kingdom of Bahrain is grappling with waste management problems arising out of high population growth rate, rapid industrialization, high per capita waste generation, unorganized SWM sector, limited land resources and poor public awareness.

The government is trying hard to improve waste management scenario by launching recycling initiatives, waste-to-energy project and public awareness campaign. However more efforts, in the form of effective legislation, large-scale investments, modern SWM technology deployment and environmental awareness, are required from all stake holders to implement a sustainable waste management system in Bahrain.

How to Make Your House More Eco-Friendly?

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Most people want to do what they can to help the environment. After all, this planet is our home, and it doesn’t benefit us if we’re destroying it. That being said, it can be incredibly hard to live an eco-friendly life. It often requires time, money, and resources that the average person doesn’t have. Luckily, there are a few ways that you can live a more eco-friendly life that don’t require any major changes or sacrifices. These are changes that most people can easily make. And, as with most things, change tends to start at home. That’s why, in this post, we’ll be discussing four ways that you can make your house more eco-friendly.

1. Support eco-friendly services

We all make use of services when it comes to our house. We constantly call people in to fix things, or to clean things. So, why not rather support a company that isn’t harming the earth?

office-cleaning

Other than doing some research and making the switch, this will require minimal effort from your side but can make a big difference when it comes to the environment. For example, next time you need your carpets cleaned, why not try an earth-friendly carpet cleaning system?

2. Recycle

It’s a well-known fact that recycling is one of the most common topics that are brought up when it comes to living a more eco-friendly life. And yet, many people don’t recycle. That’s because many of them don’t know what recycling entails.

We’re not saying you need to make homemade paper out of your old scraps of paper (although you absolutely can, if the idea interests you) but simply separating your recyclable items from the non-recyclable items will make it much better for recycling companies to do their jobs. If you need more information, click here for a list of what can be recycled.

3. Make use of alternative energy sources

Every single day, nearly every person on this planet uses some form of electricity, and a lot of it negatively impacts the world. That’s why more and more people are being encouraged to make the switch to alternative or renewable energy sources. Wind energy is a popular choice, but it’s not suitable for all regions.

solar-energy-diy

Solar panels, on the other hand, can be utilized by most households. While solar energy used to be a rare luxury that few could afford, the increase in demand means that it’s now more affordable than ever.

4. Make your own compost

Compost is great for various reasons. It’s good for the environment, it means that you waste less product, and it’s great for your garden. So, with all that in mind, we can’t think of a single reason not to make your own compost!

compost_strategies

Many people shy away from composting because they find the idea of it unappealing, but the truth is that it can be a very rewarding thing. The least you can do is to try composting – if it’s not for you, you can be eco-friendly in other ways!