From Guest Blogger Ian Lewis: How to Limit Your Home Remodel’s Environmental Impact

While home remodeling can be an exciting and fun project, it also leaves a massive impact on the environment, especially if one decides to ignore the consequences. People don’t realize the effect that materials such as concrete, asphalt, metal, plastic, and glass leave on the environment if not properly handled. In order to be as green as possible, one must research and get familiar with the consequences so that they can prevent them accordingly. The most important thing one must remember is that it doesn’t take much effort to make a huge difference. Sometimes, even the slightest change in one’s behavior can leave a tremendous impact on the environment.

Use sustainable materials

Using eco-friendly building materials is one of the most important things you can do in order to reduce your carbon footprint. The key to a truly environmental-friendly home is nothing but its owner’s awareness. For example, if wood is one of the dominant materials in your house, it would be a much better idea to use reclaimed lumber instead of going with fresh wood. In case you’re planning on hiring a contractor, make sure they are reliable and have the necessary credentials to back their green claims up. Even though sustainable materials tend to cost a fraction more in comparison to other ones, it’s certainly a worthy investment.

Eco-friendly decorations

Most people that decide to remodel their home usually invest a bit of money in new decorations and gadgets. Needless to say, this is also a step in which you can reduce your carbon footprint by implementing some eco-friendly decorating ideas.
The thing most people are familiar with is the environmental impact of LED lights. They can be found in almost any hardware store and are relatively cheap. Truth be told, there are some more expensive LED systems, but it’s a matter of personal preference and budget. If you’re on a limited budget, swapping the old incandescent with new LED bulbs will be more than enough to slightly reduce the environmental impact. On the other hand, if the budget isn’t an issue, don’t hesitate to swap every light in your home with LED systems.

Don’t hesitate to donate

In case you can’t figure out how to get rid of the stuff lying around in your backyard, donating to a good cause is always a great option. Giving to charity does not only help you solve your own problem, but it also helps others who are in dire need of furniture, doors, windows, cabinets, knobs, and etcetera.

Use environment-friendly tools

Even though most people don’t think about it, the tools you use during renovation also leave a mark on the environment. For example, if you’re planning on painting your walls with an air spray gun, make sure you reduce pollution with a good HVLP sprayer instead of opting for the conventional solution.

Proper disposal of E-Waste

Electronic waste has become a serious problem in developed countries. Many people aren’t sure how to deal with it or what to do with old electronics which consequently leads to environmental issues. For example, most modern computers are made of materials that could be reused if properly extracted. On top of that, even things like keyboards, printers, scanners, and other peripherals can be recycled.
The important thing here is to remember to recycle your old hardware before you decide to swap it for new gadgets. In case you have a particularly large amount of e-waste, there’s also a potential for a small profit, even though that shouldn’t be your primary concern in the first place.

Reuse what you can

More often than not, there are plenty of leftover materials after home remodeling. Instead of getting rid of those, try reusing them with the help of your creativity and imagination. There are plenty of things you can do with used materials as long as you’re willing to devote some time and effort to it.

The best thing about this is that it’s not as complex and hard as one would expect. You don’t need years of experience in order to make a fence out of scrap metal. Instead, all you have to do is – conduct research and read about the endless possibilities you will face during your DIY side project.