Domestic housing accounts for a fifth of UK's greenhouse gas emissions. After the government dropped their zero-carbon homes pledge in 2015 the onus is on individuals to push forward sustainability.
Here are 12 ways to live more sustainably in an apartment.
1. Use energy efficient white goods
2. Keep tabs on your devices
Lots of devices are still zapping energy even when they're off. To stop wasting energy, unplug and switch off rather than keeping things on standby. Standby functions still consume 14% of energy.
If you're serious about saving some power, try a solar powered charger for your gadgets.
3. Avoid the dryer
When using the washing machine, it’s most energy efficient to use cold water and wash at non-peak hours. Usually between the hours of 6-8 am and 8-10 pm.
Remember to load up the dishwasher and washing machine, only running a load when it is full.
Image credit: Ask og Eng
4. Use LED
In 2019, everyone should have LED light fittings.
If you are renting, you can just swap out all the halogens for LED and put the halogens back in when you leave.
5. Insulation
Insulation is so important. Unfortunately, so much energy is sucked up on badly built, poorly insulated, drafty buildings. Do what you can to fix your apartment at a structural level.
The key is to try and regulate temperature fluctuations. Close doors to any unused rooms to avoid heating or cooling them. You could also consider installing a programmable thermostat. This will automatically turn down your heating while you're at work and crank it up for when you arrive home, or when you wake up in the morning. It's not only energy efficient but luxuriously convenient.
Ideally, all buildings would have solar panels. You can start lobbying and in the meantime, you can still make a switch to renewable energy by changing your energy provider. In Britain, there are a few options you can explore;
7. Recycle
Almost half of UK households throw away at least one or more item that could be recycled and two thirds aren't sure which bins to use for what!
Contact your local council to find out where and what you can recycle. If you're in London, you can pop your postcode into the London Recycles page. You can then prep at home with some boxes or bags in the hallway, laundry or even boot of the car, to separate your recyclable items.
Ideally, food waste should be composted although this could be a bit of an overwhelming undertaking in an apartment! However, if you're in London, you can still reduce landfill if you sign up for London's food waste service. Many London councils collect food waste as part of their weekly services - just put it out for collection in a separate container. Check the link above, contact your council or the the City of London (recycling@cityoflondon.gov.uk) to find out if this service is available for your home.
8. Eat your groceries
Try cut down food wastage to begin with by planning your meals for the week, and buying just the amount of ingredients you need to stop things going bad and ending up in the bin. Food subscription boxes are good for cutting down on waste as you only get the amount of food you will use, and aren't left with bags of veggies.
Another way to avoid buying bags of food you might not be able to get through is to buy by the kilo at your local farmers market or shop at bulk markets where you bring your own food containers and fill just what you need.
10. Saving water
If you're a bottled water drinker, cut out the PET and install a water filter attached to your kitchen sink faucet.
11. Use some Apps
Oroeco allows you to track your carbon footprint based on your electricity consumption, leisure, food, transport. Joulebug allows you to share your sustainable advances and tricks with other users through videos and consumption and savings statistics.
