Households Fight Climate Change

March 26, 2019

March 26, 2019


This guest blog is courtesy of Greenmatch.


Lowering the Domestic Energy Consumption


Recent data from the UK government has shown that global thinking and local action go hand in hand in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The UK is leading the way in slowing down climate change with the help of domestic households - a strategy that is equally applicable in the US.


In the UK, the current amount of electricity generated per person is the lowest since 1984, which has been a key factor in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This decrease has largely been thanks to the use of renewable energy, such as solar panels and domestic heat pumps.


Domestic households in the US up to 21.1% of the total energy consumption and account for 11% of the total GHG emissions. Although this percentage may seem low, we can see from the UK’s progress in reducing GHG emissions that domestic households can tremendously help slow down climate change.


Climate Goals for Reducing GHG Emissions by 2030


The UK’s Committee on Climate Change has set specific goals for 2030, where their main aim is to reduce GHG emissions in the UK by 57%. When comparing to 1990 levels, the UK’s GHG emissions have been reduced by 43% already.



It is reasonable to expect domestic households to help achieve these climate goals, as they are the second largest energy consumer in the UK. The infographic below presents an overview of the UK’s progress towards their climate goals.


How Homeowners Can Help Slow Down Climate Change


A key factor to help reduce GHG emissions is to be more aware of our consumption behavior and how this affects the environment. For example, a woolen piece of clothing may have contributed to the same amount of carbon emissions as an entire month of electricity for your home.


Reducing your meat consumption, could have a huge global impact on GHG emissions. Studies indicate that by switching to a vegan diet, you could reduce your dietary carbon footprint by up to 73%. Although this might be too big of a change for many, simply eliminating lamb and beef from your diet could already make a tremendous contribution, since these production processes cause the highest amount of emissions.


Energy efficient appliances can be a great solution for reducing your energy usage. Home insulation or low-carbon heating, for example, will help to reduce your carbon footprint and will thereby lower your energy bills, too.


Another important factor – at least, when you are a frequent flyer – is to travel by train or to simply travel less often by plane. In Europe, a train journey can release around 90% less CO2 than when travelling by plane.


Additionally, in case you travel by car quite frequently, try to drive shorter distances, and consider transferring to an electric vehicle instead. Even though electric vehicles are fueled by gas or coal, their high efficiency will still help to reduce your carbon footprint in the long run.


Last but definitely not least, the most environmentally-friendly, renewable energy source is solar energy. Solar panels don’t produce any GHG emissions and thereby do not only have huge benefits for the environment, but they also lower your electricity bills!


The six most common ways in which households can help reduce GHG emissions are highlighted in the infographic below.

Share Post

September 17, 2025
The City of Medford won the 2025 Environmental Leadership Award for Outstanding Community presented by the Northeast Recycling Council, for its innovative work to reduce waste and create a more sustainable waste collection system through the City’s free curbside composting program. “I'm thankful to our team at City Hall, the Solid Waste Taskforce, our consultants Strategy Zero Waste and our volunteers for working so hard to launch our curbside composting program and making it such a meaningful success for our community,” Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn said. “This award shows that the work we’re doing in both composting and recycling is having real, transformative effects on how our community thinks about waste and the steps we’re taking to create a more sustainable environment for the future. We are honored to be recognized by the Northeast Recycling Council for these efforts.” Each year, NERC honors a community, an organization, and an individual for their outstanding contributions to recycling education and innovation. This year will mark the 9th annual Environmental Leadership Awards Ceremony, recognizing individuals and organizations who help further NERC’s waste and recycling goals. “Our committee is wholeheartedly impressed by the work of the City of Medford, and how important and impactful that work is for the community,” said Sophie Leone, Development and Program Manager at NERC. “It is a perfect representation of NERC’s mission to minimize waste, conserve natural resources, and advance a sustainable economy through facilitated collaboration and action and we are very excited to bestow the City of Medford with this award.” You can read more about the Environmental Leadership Awards here . And if you haven’t signed up for Medford’s free curbside composting program, you can do that at medfordcomposts.com . Read on MedfordMA.org.
By Resource Recycling September 10, 2025
In the Northeast, recycled commodity prices continued to decline in April-June, with MRFs experiencing an average decrease of nearly 6% compared to the first quarter of 2025, according to the Northeast Recycling Council’s (NERC) second-quarter MRF Values Survey Report. NERC’s 25th quarterly report analyzed data from 19 MRFs across 12 states, excluding two facilities from the average blended value “because they did not market enough commodities within Q2 to provide a representative comparison with other MRFs.” Compared to the previous quarter, the responding MRFs reported average values per ton for blended recyclables with residuals at $82.68, a decrease of 7.74%, or $96.21 per ton, a 5.99% decline without residuals. Thirteen of the 17 MRFs contributing to the weighted average were single-stream, while four operated on a dual-stream/source-separated basis. In the Northeast, dual-stream facilities reported a blended value of $99.74 without residuals and $86.52 including residuals, experiencing decreases of 7% and 7.16% from the previous quarter, respectively. Single-stream MRFs recorded blended values of $95.08 without residuals, down 5.7%, and $81.28,down 8.3%, with residuals. Factors such as tariffs and weak demand have led major waste haulers to adjust their forecasts, anticipating challenges due to economic uncertainty for the remainder of 2025. This dip in commodity prices was reflected in second-quarter earnings reports, with four companies reporting an average year-over-year decrease of 15% in commodity values. Houston-based WM projected a $15 million decline in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization due to softening demand. However, the emergence of new and upgraded polymer facilities is enhancing processing capabilities, driven by the expectation of high demand for recycled PET. A version of this story appeared in Resource Recycling on Sept 9. Read on Resource Recycling.
August 29, 2025
Northeast Recycling Council (NERC) Publishes 25 th Report Marking Six Years of Quarterly Data