101 Tips for Reducing Your Ecological Footprint

Food tips

1. Grow your own food

2. Eat seasonal food

3. Avoid food miles, buy local and when possible organic

4. Support Farmers Markets, local farmers and growers

5. Buy unpackaged fruit and vegetables

6. Avoid highly processed foods

7. Use takeaway containers for food storage/freezing

8. Purchase goods in re-usable containers

9. Avoid purchases that are over-packaged

10. Buy bulk and use your own containers

11. Take your own basket or cloth bag to carry shopping

12. Buy free-range eggs, avoid factory farmed produce

13. Make your own jams, pickles and baby food

14. Give surplus food away to others

Household tips

15. Use the smallest and most energy efficient appliances you can

16. Make your kitchen a glad-wrap & aluminium-foil free zone – store food in containers

17. Do not use insinkerators (garbage disposers)

18. Compost your food scraps and green waste

19. Have a worm farm at home, or do Bokashi composting

20. Recycle paper, cardboard, plastics, cans and glass

21. Use non-toxic, plant-based soaps and detergents

22. Avoid one-use products like paper towels

23. Water plants in the morning and evenings

24. Say NO to plastic bags

25. Choose appliances with good energy star ratings, especially refrigerators

26. Use less hot water when washing dishes

General tips

27. Avoid Styrofoam cups, plates and packaging

28. Avoid disposable cups, plates & utensils unless made from renewables like potato starch

29. Use cloth nappies or biodegradable nappies

30. Recycle clothes and shoes

31. Support op shops

32. Avoid clothes dryers – hang your clothes on the line to dry

33. Ensure your home is well insulated

34. Turn down your hot water cylinder

35. Take shorter showers, save water

36. Change showerheads to low-flow

37. Take showers rather than baths

38. Turn off water when brushing teeth

39. Keep blinds and curtains closed on cold nights

40. Use rechargeable batteries

41. Turn off lights when not in use, and switch off appliances when not using them

42. Learn where energy for your home comes from

43. Learn where your sewage goes

44. Discover your water catchment and work to protect it

45. Turn appliances off at the wall when not in use (incl. TV, computers & printers) – avoid standby

46. Unplug rechargeable devices when not in use

47. Mend and repair rather than discard and replace

48. Install dual flush toilets

49. Use non-toxic pest control

50. Match pot sizes to hob (ring) sizes on your stove

51. Keep your fridge & freezer maintained – replace bad seals

52. Get rid our your second fridge if you can

53. Replace washers on dripping taps

54. Boil only as much water as you’ll use when making a cup of tea

55. Save energy when boiling water by putting a lid on the pot

56. Avoid pre-heating your oven when possible  (e.g. re-heating food)

57. Use only hand pump spray cans

58. Burn only dry firewood

59. Find out where the goods you buy come from, support local

60. Reject outdoor patio heaters

61. Ensure your hot water boiler has a lagging jacket

62. Install a solar hot water heater

63. Use double burner wood burners

64. Re-use paper and envelopes

65. Avoid bleached and coloured tissues & toilet paper

66. Phone first and avoid wasted shopping trips

67. Save trees – re-use printer paper, print on the other side or make notepads

68. Make photocopies double-sided

69. Wash only full loads of laundry

70. Use warm & cold settings in washing machine rather than hot

71. Use eco-bulbs for your lights

72. Do you need to print it?

73. Sell things you no longer need

74. Use a hot water bottle instead of an electric blanket

75. Change your heated waterbed to a mattress

76. Plant trees

77. Volunteer to maintain parks & beaches

78. Support conservation programmes

79. Explore and learn about your bio-region

80. Practice preventative health care

81. Support ecologically sound products

82. Avoid toxic materials in your home

83. Don’t waste

84. Teach children ecological wisdom & sustainability

85. Become involved in community projects

86. Request bills be sent to you as emails

87. Cancel unwanted magazine subscriptions

88. Take responsibility for your actions. Think globally – act locally

89. Discuss and compare notes with your friends on reducing your ecological footprint

90. Use your local resource recovery centre

91. Use your reusable takeaway cup for on the run coffees/hot drinks

92. Live close to where you work

Transport tips

93. Drive the smallest and most fuel efficient car you can

94. Conserve petrol by walking and cycling

95. Car pool when possible

96. Keep your car correctly tuned

97. Inflate tyres to correct pressure & save fuel

98. Drive economically

99. Use public transport

100. Take two less car trips a week

101. Walk the kids to school

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