The average British person produces 12 tonnes of carbon emissions a year. When this broken down, we produce 9.5 tonnes a year from our direct choices and the rest comes indirectly from other sources such as how much we export and import and how we dispose of our waste nationally.

The International Panel of Climate Change (IPCC) recommends that we should aim to halve our carbon footprint by 2030. What we have control over is the 9.5 tonnes we produce and working towards cutting it by 4 tonnes by 2030 would be a big achievement. Our article ‘Do the big things first’ discusses what effective lifestyle changes you can make that could reduce your carbon footprint in a big way. This includes changing to a renewable energy supplier which cuts emissions by 1.5 tonnes or moving to plant-based diet which cuts emissions by 1 ton.

In this article, we focus on a number of well-known eco-friendly actions which make a small difference but are still worth doing. Although each individual action saves small amounts of emissions on their own, when you add up their small actions together, it can save 1 ton of carbon emissions yearly. These small actions are easy to do; they do not take up much time and will even save you money.

Recycle properly: save 0.2 ton of emissions

It is important to recycle but it can be confusing. Put cardboard, paper, glass and hard plastic in the recycling bin which has not been contaminated and everything else in the general bin. Containers which are partly full should not be put in the recycling bin. For example, drink containers that are half full need to be empty before they are put in the recycling bin.

Compost all your food waste: save 0.2 ton of emissions

The most important waste to deal with is food waste.  Food waste creates methane when it goes to landfill. This is a more potent greenhouse gas and warms up the atmosphere twice as fast as carbon dioxide (the main greenhouse gas). Food waste needs to be separate from other recycled products and needs its own waste bin. Most local councils in the UK collect food waste. However, investing in a compost bin means you can get rid of all your food waste without producing emissions and it creates nutrients for your garden. Another way of reducing your food waste is to eat everything you make. We throw away 22% of food that we buy, so it is worth thinking whether you are buying too much when you are shopping.

Dry-line your clothes: save 0.2 ton of emissions

Dry lining your clothes instead of tumble-drying them will reduce your carbon footprint because your washing machine is using less energy. Washing laundry on a lower temperature will also lower the amount of energy you are using. These small changes can lower energy bills by £80 per year. To dry clothes, it is best to buy a heated rack or dehumidifier. Even though heated racks and dehumidifiers require electricity, it will be far less than tumble drying clothes.

Change all your bulbs to LED bulbs in your home: save 0.1 ton of emissions

Changing all your bulbs to LED bulbs is a very easy change to make in your house. Once you have done it, you don’t need to think about it, and you will save on your energy bill as well as reduce carbon emissions. If you combine this with not leaving lights on when you are not in the room, you can save a further £65 on your energy bill.

Buy a boiler cylinder jacket: save 0.2 ton of emissions

Buying a boiler cylinder jacket will prevent it from losing heat and will warm your home more efficiently. It only cost £20 and will save up to £200 on your energy bills annually as well as cut the carbon footprint of your home.

Cut beef from your diet: save 0.2 – 1 ton of emissions

Beef produces more emissions than any other meat. It is the main driver of deforestation and cows are ruminant animals, so they create methane when digesting food and contribute to climate change. In Britian, about 9.3kg of beef is consumed per person yearly and this greatly increases the carbon emissions of our diet. There are some estimates that beef is 21% to our emissions from our diet. Cutting out beef and substituting it for chicken, pork, fish and vegetables is a small change which has an immediate and significant impact on your carbon footprint. It will save between 0.2 to 1 ton depending on what type of beef you buy. Beef which come from a European source has a lower carbon footprint compared to beef that comes from Latin American, which is the main cause of deforestation of the Amazon rainforest.