How to care for the environment

If you wonder how to care for the environment in your daily life, one of the simplest ways is to start by saving water. Water is a natural resource that is essential for the reproduction of life on the planet, so that its use needs to be deliberate and moderate. Turning off the faucet while doing things like soaping your hands, brushing your teeth, or shaving can save each home hundreds of liters of water and reduce its ecological footprint.

For example, if you leave the faucet running while performing one of these tasks, you waste approximately six liters of water, but if you only turn on the water when necessary, the amount wasted is less than half a liter. Other measures that you can take to save water are to take a shower instead of a bath, use the dishwasher and washing machine with a full load, and turn off faucets completely so that they do not drip.

Other actions that take care of the environment are making good use of heating and air conditioning. This way, you will reduce your carbon footprint. To save power, it's recommended to take advantage of natural heat and to heat up the space correctly only when necessary. To use it efficiently, it's recommended to set a temperature between 19ºC and 21ºC in winter and between 23ºC and 25ºC in summer. Therefore, you must bear in mind that raising the temperature by 1ºC can increase power consumption by up to 7% and also your electricity bill.

According to the Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving (IDAE), humidity is a key factor in thermal sensation, so indoors it should be set at 40% to 50%. And, if you feel cold, put on suitable clothing. If you need to change your air conditioning, one good option is to purchase one that is self-regulating and turns off automatically when the desired temperature is reached, preventing the extra use of power. For greater efficiency, it is also important to check for possible air leaking out of the room, so that the cold and heat do not escape through small cracks and the temperature is maintained. 

Other actions to care for the environment are recycling and properly sorting household items. In accordance with the Ecoembes recycling recommendations, each home must sort its waste into different bins:

• The yellow bin is for bottles and plastic containers, metal containers, and cartons.

• The blue bin is for cardboard packaging and paper. 

• The green bin is for glass bottles and food jars. 

• The brown bin is suitable for food waste, corks, matches and sawdust, and small garden waste. They do not exist in all of Spain’s autonomous regions.

• The gray or orange bin is suitable for all waste that cannot be used to make compost. 

• There are special bins for clothing and footwear, and collection points for large and small batteries, individual coffee capsules, medicines, wood, used domestic vegetable oil, or large waste such as furniture or mattresses, among others. 

To see the list of allowable waste and quantities and locate the closest recycling center, make sure to check out to the online channels of your local authority.

One of the new consumption trends that can contribute to caring for the environment is opting for food that's in season. These products follow the growth cycle and are picked when optimally ripe, so that they are fresh, tasty, and nutritious. Also, since they were grown nearby, they do not have to be transported for miles, which reduces emissions.

Other benefits of consuming local products is that it keeps fresh food from spoiling, as it travels short distances and the amount of packaging is considerably reduced since it doesn't need much protection. Consuming local products definitely has very positive effects on each area's economy, because it creates jobs and wealth, and on the environment, because it reduces power consumption.