In this article, we’ll take a look at the causes, effects, and solutions for urbanization, including a breakdown of the sustainable cities strategy and how future current and future generations might implement this.

What is urbanization?

Urbanization is the phenomenon of the sustained mass movement of people from the rural areas of a country or region to cities and suburbs.

What is an urban area?

The US Census defines an urban area as a continuously built-up region with a population of 50,000 or more. These towns and cities usually have a central built-up area with a surrounding densely settled urban fringe.

The urbanization phenomenon

Due to this massive population shift to cities, their size had grown, leading to an increasing proportion of land being requisitioned and developed for housing and amenities for an expanding urbanized population. Conversely, rural populations have gradually declined as more and more people leave for the cities.

Urbanization is taking place all over the world. It is as common in more economically developed countries as it is in lesser economically developed countries. According to the World Bank, more than 56% of the world’s population lives in cities. This means that more than 4.4 billion people call some part of a city their home. The urbanization trend is set to continue, with a peak of over 70% of people living in urbanized environments by 2050.

The scale of the urbanization issue

Urbanization is a global issue that has led to a marked change in how people work and live.

But this is changing quickly. By clicking on any country shown in the World Data map, you can see how urbanization rates change with time. For many countries, you see a rapid migration of populations into towns and cities.

It’s all about people

Urbanization is primarily about the movement of people rather than the buildings and infrastructure that they inhabit. This phenomenon is really about people leaving to seek better living conditions, work and opportunities, and an environment that appears to offer them.

Money moves to cities, too

The expectation of a better life by moving to cities is understandable, as more than 80% of global GDP is generated in cities. Urbanization is a key characteristic of global economic development. Wealth and productivity are concentrated in cities, leading to an uplift in the per capita level of income for residents and trickle-down rises in the standard of living.

Cities are hubs of regional infrastructure, often with industrialized districts where manufacturing and other productive activity take place. This industrialization of economies was historically the primary driver of net migration from rural communities to cities, as plentiful work was available.

In countries with a service-based economy, the industry is not the primary pull, but the migration for job opportunities has continued.

What are the causes of urbanization?

There are significant drivers of urbanization that are similar throughout the world. Here are the leading identified causes for the population shift to towns and cities:

1. The industrialization of economies

The 18th-century industrial revolution that was born in Great Britain has been gradually exported around the world. As countries industrialize their economies, they build infrastructure to process raw materials and manufacture various goods for domestic use and export.

This necessitates the creation of jobs to supply the manpower for factories and other industrial facilities. Industrial workers also need nearby housing and amenities, drawing other workers to establish urban communities.

The industrial district also develops infrastructure related to the movement of goods, trade, and commerce. This catalyzes the development of towns and cities around areas of industry.

2. Employment opportunities

A city is a man-made ecosystem that is driven by human activity. Continuous labor is required for every aspect of urban existence, with jobs spanning administration to waste management. This means plentiful job opportunities enable incomers to establish themselves quickly in cities.

Urban jobs typically pay a regular wage that is usually higher than can be earned in the countryside. This is a powerful draw for people living a physically demanding rural lifestyle, which is seasonal and often has unpredictable earnings.

3. Infrastructure and amenities

Another cause of urbanization is the attraction of the advanced infrastructure that urban areas contain. Towns and cities are developed environments where sustained investment has created robust networks of roads, telecommunications, power, fresh water access, sanitation, and sophisticated supply chains for the products and services that city dwellers require.

People want to move to cities to take advantage of these services that may not be available in many rural parts of the world. Urban areas provide residents with access to key amenities like schools, hospitals, shops, and entertainment and recreational facilities that can provide residents with a better quality of life.

4. Centralization of commerce

Through industrialization and the manufacture and trade of goods, cities quickly become commercial centers, with people heading into them to buy and sell. The high and concentrated population increases the demand for goods and services which can be delivered to the population for profit.

The high level of financial transactions in cities and towns necessitates the presence of banks and other financial institutions that concentrate wealth. Many cities even have their own stock exchange or markets for the large-scale trading of commodities and other investments.

5. Centralization of education, culture, and government

Urbanization has offered people a massive uplift in their quality of life, enabling them to pursue pursuits beyond subsistence living. Cities are often well-designed and government, making them centers of political power.

In addition, leading academic institutions use the infrastructure and amenities to educate the population and attract the leading thinkers within a nation. Entertainment venues like theaters, bars, and sports facilities shape a cohesive identity and culture for a city’s inhabitants. These factors make the concept of a city aspiration to many people.

6. Modernization

Urban areas are also attractive because they are associated with a modern way of life. Cities attract a highly literate, savvy, and well-informed population with access to the most advanced technology a nation can offer its people. New fashions, political ideas, and creativity often come from urban districts, which may be more liberal due to their wealth and opportunity.

Cities absorb large numbers of people who want to live an urbanized lifestyle. Many people are even prepared to endure living in slum-dwellings for many years to escape rural poverty, and to obtain the chance for social advancement.

7. Displacement of peoples

People do not always voluntarily find themselves living in urban areas. Throughout history, the displacement and concentration of people have been associated with war, famine, land grabs, and slavery.

As people disperse from rural areas, the agricultural and natural resource potential of rural areas is concentrated in the hands of fewer and fewer people. The world’s five biggest landowners, including the Roman Catholic Church, Australian mining magnate Gina Rinehart, and Mudanjiang City Mega Farm own nation-sized quantities of land.

8. Natural resource exploitation

Previously underdeveloped rural areas can be rapidly transformed into urbanized communities through the discovery of valuable natural resources like precious metals, minerals, or oil. Resource exploitation requires massive investment infrastructure that attracts workers and their dependents.

The increased productivity and wealth creation of mining towns can lead to them becoming cities, with diversified real estate, like commercial buildings and shops, and robust transport links (road, rail) to other urban areas.

9. Population increases

Global population growth accelerated in the second half of the 20th century and currently stands at over 7.8 billion people. Many nations house most of their population in urban areas because it offers the opportunity for high-density housing that can accommodate large numbers of people in a relatively small area rather than lower-density rural housing.

The key effects of urbanization

Towns and cities attract people because of their opportunities and convenience. But urbanization has numerous advantages, and the disadvantages of rapid and often unplanned urban growth. are increasingly recognized. Here are some of the most important effects of urbanization:

An uplift in living standards for many

Cities can significantly uplift living standards for larger populations of people than rural areas. This is primarily because of the centralization of a region’s economic and human resources, driving wealth creation and innovation.

Cities provide ready access to essential services like education and healthcare. In particular, studies have shown that infant mortality is significantly reduced in urban areas because of quick access to health services.

Authorities and private companies can also easily provide cheaper access to fresh water, sanitation, and utilities in the city than in expansive underdeveloped rural areas.

The development of slums and squatter settlements

One of urbanization’s most important negative effects is the development of slum districts. These are unofficial extensions to towns and cities that offer the cheapest housing opportunities for poor people who have migrated to an urban area.

Slums are found worldwide but are most concentrated in developing countries. The UN has suggested that up to a third of urban inhabitants live in slums. These urban districts are characterized by the following:

• Poor housing is often erected using discarded materials.
• Overcrowded high-density neighborhoods.
• Few utilities and amenities as the neighborhoods are informally erected or squatter communities.
• No waste disposal or sanitation facilities, leading to disease outbreaks.
• Few public services creating impoverished, segregated communities with little hope of improving their circumstances.

Increased demand for water and sanitation

Though access to water and sanitation is one of the key benefits of urbanization, the rate of urbanization can outstrip these essential resources. Many poorer countries not only have to provide water to metropolitan areas but also have to meet rising demand from slums and other informal urbanized settlements.

A continuous rise in urban population leads to a massive increase in the demand for water, stressing reservoir and groundwater supplies. In addition, municipal authorities have the challenge of dealing with the wastewater generated by a large and concentrated population. Many developing countries have little to no sewage infrastructure in place.

Providing sanitation infrastructure for slums is difficult because the neighborhoods are unplanned and heterogeneous. Any pit latrines or septic tanks that are installed are often inadequate and can become a health risk, contaminating freshwater supplies or overflowing and spreading disease.

Generation of waste and pollution

The concentrated human population in urban areas negatively affects the surrounding environment significantly. This is not because of the people themselves but because of how they live. Urban lifestyles consume natural resources and generate waste and pollution. Negative effects include:

• Air pollution: Traffic in urban areas is often congested, leading to increased air pollution and a sustained deterioration in air quality in urban centers. Air quality is also degraded by burning wood for heat and cooking, and exhaust fumes from industrial activity.

• Water pollution: In many developing countries, surface water and watercourses in urban areas become open sewers and polluted with solid waste. Without regulation and enforcement, businesses will also discharge pollutants into waterways, leading to long-term contamination of surface and groundwater supplies. 

• Municipal solid waste: The waste generated by urban populations needs to be carefully managed, or it will pollute the environment. Many urban areas and slums are affected by the open dumping or burning of waste. This releases pollutants that are extremely hazardous to human health. 

Damage to human health

Though people in towns and cities often have ready access to healthcare facilities, urbanization can have devastating long-term effects on human health. The main adverse health effects of urbanization come from the pollution and waste that is generated by the artificially concentrated population.

Poor urban inhabitants face the health challenges that come with degraded living conditions and limited clean water and sanitation. But poor air quality or waterborne disease outbreaks can affect city-dwellers of all socioeconomic levels. Sadly, the youngest and most vulnerable members of urbanized communities are often affected most.

Pressure on food supplies

The massive movement of people to cities places pressure on the supply and distribution of food. People living in cities are no longer producers of their own food. As consumers, they are reliant on purchased food that needs to be brought into the city.

Food security in urban areas is vulnerable to the market prices for different foods. As demand rises, food can become expensive, especially as the availability of agricultural land is increasingly eroded by urban sprawl. Freshwater pollution can also harm fish stocks that urban communities may rely on for food.

Social problems

Urban environments can also foment entrenched social problems, often driven by socioeconomic deprivation and slum proliferation. Built-up urban environments that are not properly managed and secured can allow criminal activity like drug abuse and prostitution to proliferate and dominate specific parts of a town or city.

Poorer residents of cities may find themselves working long hours, leading to strain on family and community relations. Overcrowding and poor living conditions deteriorate the quality of life, health, and prospects of younger urban dwellers. In developing countries, neglected children may become street children missing out on education.

Are there solutions for urbanization?

Organizations like the World Bank and the UN have partnered with governments and stakeholders to investigate and develop solutions for urbanization. The current consensus is that a new type of urban environment known as a sustainable city should be developed.

What is a sustainable city?

Sustainable cities and communities are a reimagined form of urbanization with environments that have been deliberately created to be environmentally and resource sustainable. Governments have the aspiration that sustainable cities will be resilient and productive environments with impeccable green credentials.

According to the Energy and Environmental Building Alliance, sustainable cities have the following characteristics, which each serves as solutions to the problems caused by urbanization: 

1. A safe and accessible public transportation network with city-wide coverage encourages people to leave their cars at home.
2. Neighborhoods that are easily biked or walked, for a reduction in short car journeys, which are the most polluting. 
3. A network of electric car charging stations to increase the adoption of electric vehicles in urban environments.
4. Integration of renewable energy sources.
5. Development of energy-efficient, sustainable architecture that features living roofs, solar panels, insulation, and smart building management technology.
6. Infrastructure to maximize the recycling of waste.
7. Access to green spaces and community gardens for the cultivation of food.

In line with the UN’s sustainable development goals, sustainable cities will be inclusive, going a long way to ending the extreme poverty that still affects many parts of the world. Organizations are currently investing and lending money to kickstart the creation of these cities, with the World Bank funding over 230 projects with $33.9 billion in loans and investment project financing.

How sustainable cities are being created

The transition towards sustainable urban environments is already underway. Many of the Sustainable Development Goals are currently being integrated into governmental policy and legislation with little public consultation. However, here are the strategies that are currently being used to develop sustainable cities:

1. Develop new planning policies

A key driver of sustainable cities will be the planning policies used to create and shape them. Urbanization problems like sprawl and slums have arisen because of an absence of urban planning, zoning, or governance.

The movement for sustainable cities is therefore targeting municipal authorities with training, white papers, and diagnostic tools that can help them make better-informed planning decisions. With strengthened planning systems, cities can manage their assets better and develop the sustainable urban environments of the future.

2. Release funding for sustainable development projects

Transforming existing urban environments into sustainable cities and developing new ones will require trillions of dollars, far beyond most countries’ GDP, including the US. This means that financial resources for these cities will have to be raised through borrowing money from banks like the IMF and World Bank. 

The financing costs for sustainable urbanization are estimated to cost more than $5 trillion per year, especially if efforts are made to develop low-emission infrastructure. Developing countries will require the most funding, which could lead to them becoming indebted if they do not derive an economic advantage from the development.

3. Build infrastructure to connect regions and distribute wealth

The centralization of wealth, administration, and governance has long been a feature of cities. However, to ensure that the economic uplift of sustainable cities benefits an entire nation, infrastructure should promote interconnectivity between settled regions.

Strategists specializing in territorial and spatial development advise that infrastructure should level up inequalities within cities and lagging regions to accelerate growth and make jobs accessible to workers without migrating over long distances. By harnessing agglomerations, nations can leverage the productivity of key cities to boost economic growth!

4. Build for environmental resilience

Cities in many parts of the world are vulnerable to the damaging effects of natural disasters like tornadoes, earthquakes, and tsunamis. Developing countries are most affected, with natural disasters costing their economies at least 1% of their GDP annually.

Sustainable cities will feature architectural design and engineering that can withstand disaster conditions. City authorities also have to upgrade their building regulations to ensure they are built in line with the most advanced construction standards.  

The hazardous environments and precarious housing conditions of slums mean that they suffer the most damage if a natural disaster occurs. Urban housing development needs to consider slum communities and embrace an inclusive home-building approach.

5. Invest in the poorest and most marginalized communities

Tackling marginalization is key to creating more productive and inclusive urban environments. Stakeholders are keen to target investment at eradicating entrenched urban poverty and slums. Architects and designers will be required to develop safe and secure housing that can accommodate people who will be displaced as slum neighborhoods are redeveloped.

An important issue has been the lack of service access and connectivity access that slum and informal settlement communities face. By investing in internet access, and other services, these city residents can participate in the digital economy and find opportunities to lift themselves out of poverty.

Another area where inclusivity will be integrated into sustainable cities is accessibility for people with visible and hidden disabilities, maximizing participation by everyone in these innovative urban environments.

In conclusion

The urbanization trend shows no sign of slowing down. As cities become the predominant setting for human life and activity, these built-up environments need to change to be safe, and sanitary and lessen their environmental impact.

However, countries are likely to become heavily indebted to international banks to achieve the sustainable cities proposed as the solution for urbanization. Without a reasonable return on investment, through economic growth and shared prosperity, sustainable cities cannot be sustained.

In this article, we share the causes, effects, and solutions for urban sprawl and how it will impact the implementation of sustainable cities in the coming years.

What is urban sprawl?

Urban sprawl is the uncontained spread of urbanized areas into undeveloped land and greenspaces. Sprawl can often be recognized by its development aesthetics and street patterns that may be inconsistent with the city. It is also known as urban encroachment or suburban sprawl.

The massive expansion of urban areas has taken place without thought given to the wider social and environmental impact. As the sprawl spreads outwards from the city the buildings often become more haphazard, lower-density, and poorly planned and integrated with the city.

The origins of urban sprawl

Throughout the previous great civilizations, notable cities of antiquity like Rome, London, and Jerusalem were contained and walled. This fortification was routine to protect against enemy invasion and continued well beyond the middle ages.

As history progressed, changes in warfare, increases in trade, and, most importantly, the industrial revolution led to the loss of city walls and the growth and outward spread of cities. People began to migrate from rural areas to urban centers to take advantage of plentiful and consistent work.

Major industrialists often provided housing for their workers, creating the beginnings of urban sprawl. This phenomenon has been seen globally as major cities have risen to become nations’ primary commercial and employment centers.

Urban sprawl continues in the United States

America is home to some of the world’s largest conurbations, including BOSNYWASH (Boston, New York City, and Washington), and Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land, the fifth most populated region in the U.S. However, how America’s urban zones are expanding could jeopardize the environment and the community cohesiveness on which the nation has thrived.

Scientists and policymakers have long-standing concerns that these sprawling suburban development patterns are destroying the environment through diminishing greenspaces and natural habitats, and the pollution of land, air, and water. As there is a concerted move towards more sustainable communities in the 21st century, a consensus is emerging that urban sprawl will have to be addressed.

Key features of urban sprawl

There is no universally agreed definition of urban sprawl but the following features are noted in many urban areas that have spread uncontrollably:

1. Spiral outward growth pattern

Studies of large conurbations and urban sprawl have characterized a spiral growth pattern, with arms fanning outwards along the main routes out of the city. Compared to the true city which is relatively compact, the sprawl is lower density.

This is corroborated by a study that found that the majority of new housing built in the US (80%+) are single-family dwellings sited outside urban areas on an acre or more of land.

2. A haphazard development pattern

Urban sprawl shows an irregular pattern of spread with dispersed construction that eats further and further into rural areas. Within the sprawl, variously sized pocks of undeveloped land lead to much more land becoming urbanized than if a town planner coherently organized the construction.

3. Strips

Another feature of sprawl is strips of ribbon development that springs up on either side of a major arterial road leaving the city. This type of development is unnaturally linear and presents a road safety hazard as communities have to cross high-speed highways to access shopping, restaurants, and other local amenities.

These neighborhoods primarily cater to drivers and may leave non-driving residents without adequate access.

4. Low-density dwellings

The properties that spring up in urban sprawl are largely detached single-family homes. This type of property is part of the American dream and an aspiration for many growing families in America. Developers make huge profits on building these large-lot single-family homes on an acre or more of simply landscaped land.

This has led to the majority of land development in the U.S. being either:

• Urban expansion
• Large-lot development

The problem is that these properties are forming the majority of U.S. property development and consuming large amounts of previously productive land. However, with careful design, homes can be extremely resource efficient and minimize their harm to the environment through reduced consumption of natural resources.

5. Short-car journeys

In suburban sprawl, the car is king, and residents have a massive reliance on their cars for even the most basic journeys. Sprawl areas consist of vast residential areas with few shops or neighborhood amenities because homeowners drive their cars everywhere.

Residents drive in and out of the residential areas by car. Nothing is within walking distance, but short car journeys are the most polluting.

6. Blurred boundaries with true rural areas

Urban sprawl has led to a blurred boundary between urban and rural areas. Between 1960 and 1990 more than a million acres of rural land were taken for housing development. These massive amounts of land impact current and future agricultural productivity.

Massive consumption of agricultural land may not be easily discerned with one or two developments in a single rural locality, but the sprawl becomes apparent when viewed at a regional level.

7. Development is single use

Sprawl areas developed with specific areas being reserved for single-family housing, with roads connecting the different areas. Residents in sprawl neighborhoods live in expansive areas that only have new-build housing. They then need to travel to retail parks and malls to shop or enjoy entertainment. The excessive use of land expands to large lawns and golf courses.

What are the causes of urban sprawl?

Urban sprawl is driven by the movement of people with distinct socioeconomic drivers for the demand for sprawl housing. Here are the main causes of urban sprawl:

Cheaper land

The biggest driver of sprawl developments is the lower price of suburban and rural land. A single-family home in the ‘burbs is often cheaper than a cramped city apartment. The lower land means that families can get much more space for their dollar, which motivates them to leave city centers, moving further and further out of the city.

Lower municipal taxes

Another motivation for buying property in sprawl developments is the lower local tax rates in suburban areas. This reduces the cost of living in the sprawl compared to the city center.

Improving incomes and social mobility

The post-war years have seen a sustained rise in incomes and living standards. This has enabled increasing numbers of people to afford a property further out of town.

The search for a better quality of life

Given a choice, higher-earning families opt to live in low-density neighborhoods with much more space. Out-of-town sprawl developments offer larger properties with more living space and locations on the margins of the nearest metropolitan area.

The preference for living at the urban fringe has not changed for decades with several generations pursuing the American dream of home ownership and raising a family in new-build low-density neighborhoods.

Congested living in inner-city neighborhoods

Urban areas have continued to be densely populated as people are drawn to them for work and lifestyle. Increases in the population of cities cause them to grow beyond their capacity, pushing people outwards. Many sprawl-dwellers are motivated by a desire for green spaces, trees, and safer neighborhoods that have been neglected in urban planning.

Availability of nearby commuter solutions

Residents are attracted to these sprawling suburban neighborhoods by the availability of infrastructure (road, bus, rail) that can take commuters back into the city for work. Decreasing commuter costs and the relatively low price of gasoline make life outside of the city easy. The cheaper commuter costs add to the appeal of suburban sprawl living.

The effects of urban sprawl

Heavy marketing of the white picket fence lifestyle of suburban living continues to drive urban sprawl more than 60 years after marketers dreamed up the ad images. But now, sprawl is increasingly attracting opposition, particularly because of its marked environmental effects.

Consumption of land

The acceleration of urban sprawl has consumed massive amounts of agricultural land. Big increases in urban populations have led to the aggressive spread.

An example is Chicago’s growth which had growth of 48% within 45 years but land coverage in excess of 160%. Also, in Boston, the amount of land developed in the last four decades exceeds the last 330 years of inhabitation.

This makes sense when you consider that the number of farms in the United States has fallen more than 63%, with just 2 million farms in 2000 compared to 7 million in 1930. Another trend is the movement of commercial buildings to out-of-town locations. South Florida only has 13% of its office space located in its central business district (CBD).

Environmental effects

The environmental effects of sprawl are wide-ranging, with consequences for wildlife and residents. Key environmental issues in urban sprawl include:

• Air pollution caused by excessive commuter traffic.
• Water pollution caused by increased surface run-off from newly built-up areas.
• Habitat and biodiversity loss, with the loss of natural corridors used by wildlife to move from place to place.
• Creation of man-made barriers to wildlife and increased roadkill from the expansion of the road network.
• Loss of environmentally sensitive areas like wetlands.
• Decrease in open, natural spaces like woodland, plains, or moorlands
• Raised flood risk, as many developments are built on known flood plains.

Public expenditure for infrastructure and services

The expansion of suburban neighborhoods necessitates increased public spending on infrastructure and services for the newly formed communities. Depending on location, money may have to be spent on flood defenses for properties.

Increased traffic and pollution

These disparate suburban neighborhoods are reliant on cars for even the shortest journeys. This mass movement of vehicles into and out of city centers during rush hour leads to a marked deterioration in air quality alongside increased fossil fuel consumption.

Homogeneity of communities

Urban sprawl has also highlighted social issues because the communities that develop in sprawl are generally upwardly mobile with residents of the same income or social group. This may lead to the polarization of communities and the ghettoization of inner city areas, where only socially disadvantaged people remain.

What are the solutions for urban sprawl?

The effects of urban sprawl are undeniable, but finding a solution to the increasing spread of urbanized neighborhoods is a real challenge.

Academics, environmentalists and policymakers that have explored this issue agree that there is no single solution for mitigating urban sprawl. Change must be delivered using a multifaceted strategy. Here are some elements that may work:

Better town planning

Local and regional planning policies are central to preventing the continued spread of urbanized areas. Municipal authorities can lead in guiding the growth of communities so that they have less environmental impact and concentrate resources in specifically designated areas that spare rural settings, like brownfield development.

A more formal approach to town planning with the development of smart growth or compact development, much like the Garden City Movement in the early 20th century, can help safeguard rural areas while offering homeowners the quality of life they are looking for.

Implementation of sprawl reduction policies

Local authorities can also implement more assertive policies like zoning provisions, specific building permits, and boundaries that direct new developments away from rural or ecologically important land.

Incentivizing redevelopment of existing urban areas

Tax breaks, development density bonuses, and providing development opportunities in urban areas such as ex-industrial or brownfield land may encourage developers to invest in improving urban districts rather than the country.

Authorities can also direct public investments toward the redevelopment of urban areas so that their amenities and housing quality can improve. By improving urban districts, people will be more inclined to stay in them, alleviating pressure on the periphery of cities.

Proactive land acquisition

Local, regional, and state governments can implement land acquisition, purchasing important habitats and parcels of land for conservation purposes.

A new generation of state parks, wildlife reserves, and open spaces could help to educate communities about the importance of preserving green spaces and ensure that ecologically critical areas are protected in perpetuity.

In conclusion

Urban sprawl and its drivers represent a failure in town and city planning amidst market forces that make it advantageous for families to move to newly built suburban communities. The sprawl represents a compromise between the accessibility of work, convenient amenities and entertainment in the city and open spaces and a slower pace of life.

However, in the future, homeowners may have to decide to be either city slickers or country bumpkins!

How? Because pollinators like bees, bats, and butterflies pollinate over 180,000 plant species and more than 1,200 crops. The first step of pollination happens when a pollen grain moves from the male part of a flower to the female part, and pollinators play a key role in this movement of pollen.

For this reason, protecting our bees has become a priority for environmentalists around the world. Harmful bee repellents that contain chemicals are not only damaging bee populations, they are also contributing to pollution. There is, however, a way to peacefully coexist with bees and pollinators without harming them: natural bee repellent.

In this guide, we’ll explore all you need to know about how effective natural bee repellent is, and how to create your own recipe at home.

Is it possible to keep bees away naturally?

Before turning to bee repellent methods, there are some key facts to know about bee behavior that can help you avoid attracting bees, whether you have an allergy or simply do not like bees buzzing around you while outside.

Ever notice that beekeepers wear white suits? This is because bees are aggressive towards dark, fuzzy objects. Be sure to wear light-colored clothing if you’re hoping to avoid bees.

You’ll also want to avoid wearing flowery scents or sweet-smelling soaps, hair products, or deodorant. These sweet smells will likely attract not only bees, but other insects to you.

The same goes for flowers in your yard – if you’re aiming to avoid bees, avoid planting sweet-smelling plants and flowers in your yard, as pollinators are attracted to them.

And why are bees so attracted to sweet scents? The short answer is sugar! Many bees feed on the nectar from flowers and plants, so the sugary beverage you’re drinking or sweet perfume you’re using will no doubt attract the attention of bees.

Bees eat nectar to feed their colony and to fuel their flight. In fact, bees can actually taste sugars: when in contact with food, their taste neurons are activated, signaling the presence of food.

If these methods of avoiding the attention of bees do not work for you, there are plenty of natural bee repellent methods that will discourage bees without harming them.

Looking to natural solutions is critical because bee populations are shrinking: pollution, disease, the misuse of chemicals, and changes in climatic patterns are all leading to shrinking and shifting pollinator populations.

We can all do our part to reduce the damage done to bee populations by opting for natural repellent methods. After all, cross-pollination helps at least 30% of the world’s crops and 90% of wild plants thrive, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Do natural bee repellent methods actually work?

While some bee infestations may require professional help from a bee removal expert (not an exterminator!), in most cases, natural bee repellents are just as effective as those that utilize harmful chemicals.

Let’s explore some of the most effective substances for repelling bees.

Citronella

Citronella is one of the most effective natural bee repellents. Many insect repellent products contain citronella in the form of sprays and candles.

Citronella oil repels insects rather than killing them. Sensitive bees are deterred by strong smells, and they will particularly avoid areas infused with the scent of citronella.

You can purchase citronella oil and apply it to various areas around your yard or clothing, or light citronella candles while you’re outside to create a masking odor that bees and insects will avoid.

While citronella will not harm bees directly, it’s a super effective way to keep them from flying around certain areas of your yard or home.

Peppermint

In a similar way, the smell of peppermint will also repel bees from a certain area. The strong peppermint scent interferes with bees’ sensitive sense of smell, making this natural ingredient a great natural bee repellent.

To utilize peppermint at home, you can plant peppermint plants in your yard or dab peppermint essential oils on your body, clothing, or areas of your yard.

Cinnamon

The scent of cinnamon also encourages bees to relocate, and you most likely already have this ingredient in your home. 

If a hive of honey bees has decided to settle in your yard and you’d like them to move, try sprinkling cinnamon powder around their hive for about a week.

While the smell won’t hurt them, it is strong enough that it will overpower sweet-smelling flowers in the area and the colony of bees will most likely move on.

Distilled vinegar

Distilled vinegar is another item that you most likely already have in your home! An all-natural solution for green cleaning at home, vinegar has many uses. It’s no surprise that it can also help you keep bees away from swarming your home and yard.

One of the best ways to utilize vinegar as a natural bee repellent is to create a spray: combine equal parts vinegar and water, and then spray this solution in the vicinity of the beehive or around your yard. Be sure to check whether vinegar can damage your deck, patio, or furniture, however.

You can also fill small containers with vinegar – such as recycled cans or glass jars – and place them around your patio, yard, and windowsills.

Fresh cucumber

Cucumbers are also surprisingly effective at keeping bees away. However, just laying a whole cucumber in your yard will not really help; it’s actually the cucumber peel that bees and wasps dislike. This is because bees aren’t fond of the acidity of cucumber peels.

So, placing cucumber peels around your yard or home, on window sills, or other high places where rabbits cannot reach them is a great solution to keeping bees away naturally.

You can also cut up the peels and lay them on an aluminum pie dish for an extra-effective repellent: the ensuing chemical reaction will create a scent that bees can’t stand.

DIY natural bee repellent

To create a super effective bee repellent, you can also concoct your own solution at home. Various recipes combine these bee repelling ingredients that won’t harm people or wildlife in your yard.

How to make natural bee repellent at home

Want to save money and create a natural bee repellent that won’t harm your plants or other animals that occupy your yard? Let’s explore several methods to create your own bee-repelling solution at home. 

1. Create an essential oil-based spray

There are several bee repellent sprays that you can create using various essential oils. All you’ll need to create this spray is:

• A spray bottle
• Water
• 2-3 essential oils of your choice

Using the oils that most effectively repel the scent of bees is best for this recipe, so you can mix peppermint oil with other oils like lavender, cedarwood, or eucalyptus essential oil. Combined with water, spraying this mixture will not only smell good, but will also keep insects away from your home and yard without killing them.

Another way to increase the effectiveness of essential oil repellent is to combine your choice of oil with water and 2-3 teaspoons of liquid soap. The soap allows you to spray this solution on most household items.

After spraying this mixture, the water will evaporate and leave the essential oil scent behind as a natural repellent. However, keep in mind that you shouldn’t spray essential oil mixtures on your food or skin, but dabbing it on clothing is typically fine.

2. Add certain spices to your recipe

Adding spices to your essential oil-based repelling solution will make it more effective! To create this mixture, start with the same recipe as above: soap, water, and your choice of essential oils like peppermint or lavender.

Next, add ⅛ teaspoon of cinnamon and ⅛ teaspoon of cayenne pepper to the mixture. The strong scents of these smells will ensure that your mixture is strong enough to keep most bees away!

Spray your natural bee repellent around your deck, patio, doors, windows, and in the air in a certain area to keep bees away.

Note: don’t spray bees directly!

After creating your own natural bee repellent recipe, it’s important to know that you shouldn’t spray bees or wasps directly.

Wasps are particularly aggressive and may try to sting if provoked. To be safe, spray your surfaces and clothing, but only when safe to do so.

So, never spray your repellent directly at any wasps you see. If you discover a nest or you have a particularly bad infestation, be sure to seek professional help for removing bees or wasps from your property.

Give natural bee repellent a try

This warm season, rest assured that you’ll be able to keep bees away with these natural bee repellent solutions. Most of these repellents are cost-effective, and you may already have them at home.

In addition, these solutions won’t harm bees that are essential to our ecosystem, the animal food chain, and the growth of our food.

Follow these recipes or create your own mixture and you’ll be equipped with an affordable and green bee repellent this summer.

The United Nations has projected that this exponential population growth will continue: in 2030, the world’s population will likely reach 8.5 billion by 2050, 9.7 billion, and 10.4 billion by 2100.

Some experts say that since 1970, the world has been overpopulated. Overpopulation refers to the state in which the Earth cannot regenerate the resources used by the world’s population each year.

This nuanced trend has impacted everything from climate change to food resources worldwide. It’s critical to understand the factors enabling such rapid population growth and what we can do to curb the adverse effects of overpopulation.

In this guide, we’ll dive into all the overpopulation causes, effects, and solutions you need to know.

Is the world overpopulated?

The state of our Earth’s population has been fiercely debated for decades, with some deterrents stating that the concern of overpopulation is exaggerated. Many scientists state that human population growth will eventually end, and the United Nations also predicts that Earth’s population will not exceed 12 billion.

Regardless of which side you take in the debate, it’s true that a steadily expanding human population proposes immense challenges to all nations.

As The Overpopulation Project states, the Earth is overpopulated for two main reasons:

1. Humans are rapidly displacing wildlife species across the globe.
2. We are degrading ecosystems that provide essential, irreplaceable environmental services that future generations will need to live decent lives.

This reasoning is driven by the argument that Earth has never been equipped to house this many human beings. Today, we are not sharing Earth fairly with the millions of other plant, animal, and aquatic species that call it home.

Indeed, humans are consuming more natural resources than ever and encroaching on more and more natural habitats as the population has grown. It’s fair to assume that as the population keeps growing, so too will our damage to the Earth.

Only a few countries will make up over half the projected population increase by 2050: India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Tanzania, the Philippines, and Egypt.

It’s important to understand that while population growth is highest in impoverished countries, consumption, carbon emissions, and resource use are far more significant in developed parts of the world. Thus, the environmental impact of each individual in wealthy countries is higher than in poorer countries.

What is causing overpopulation in the world today?

Now that we better understand the overpopulation debate and where population growth is occurring most rapidly worldwide, let’s examine the causes of this phenomenon.

Longer life expectancy

One of the most significant causes of overpopulation is what many would view as a positive development: the average life expectancy has continued to grow, and mortality rates worldwide have decreased in the last centuries.

Advances in modern medicine and increasing access to food and clean water are reasons life expectancy has continued to grow.

The World Health Organization (WHO) notes that global life expectancy at birth is expected to rise from 72.8 years in 2019 to 77.2 years in 2050. However, large gaps in this progress exist between the least developed countries and those that are more developed.

Death rates have also decreased: in 1973, the global mortality rate was 12.2 per 1,000 people, and in 2022, this rate decreased to 8.4 deaths per 1,000 people. While it’d normally be considered a positive trend, this increase in life expectancy means that the consumption footprint of each person also increases.

As people live longer and have children that, in turn, live longer, global demand for food and essential resources will continue to increase.

Underutilization of contraception and family planning

A 2019 study found that around half of the annual 21 million pregnancies in low- and middle-income countries in individuals aged 15-19 years were unintended.

They found that 8 million out of 9.5 million unintended pregnancies occurring annually in only twelve countries could have been prevented with modern methods of contraception.

These results illustrate the staggering effects of the lack of modern contraception on population growth. Underutilization of modern contraception occurs for a few reasons, including lack of access, fear of potential side effects, and lack of education on contraception and family planning.

Lack of access to contraceptives is an immense issue worldwide: around 1.2 million women live in a county without a single health center offering the full range of contraceptive methods.

A lack of adequate family planning also persists in many places. Family planning refers to the number of children a person wants to have. This right has been hindered in countries where there are gender or culturally-based barriers, a lack of access to adequate medical services, and where religious leaders reject the idea.

Better fertility treatment

Fertility treatment has become more advanced as medical care has improved globally, especially in wealthier countries where inhabitants can afford these treatments.

In the U.S., for example, more than 1 million babies have been born due to assisted reproductive technology since 1996. In fact, since 1978, the number of people conceived by reproductive technology has reached several million today and is rapidly approaching 0.1% of the total world population.

Over time, as more and more people utilize assisted reproductive technology, such as IVF, to grow their families, this portion of the population will continue to grow.

Migration and urban concentration

Today, cities worldwide are at the center of the overpopulation problem, and they’re continuing to grow.

These massive cities have been populated by migration and expansion for several reasons. People migrate from land damaged by climate disasters and flee social upheaval, conflict, and economic disparity.

While Tokyo and Delhi have experienced some of the highest economic growth in the world, these cities are not expected to grow much more. Instead, smaller cities in countries like India will continue to grow.

It’s projected that within 35 years, more than 100 cities will have populations larger than 5.5 million people. Where will these fast-growing cities be? By 2100, the world’s population centers are anticipated to shift to Asia and Africa.

What are the negative effects of overpopulation?

As more and more people are born, more food, clean water, energy, housing, healthcare, transportation, and energy are needed. This demand not only adds pressure to our already-strained resources but also increases the chance of conflict, large-scale disasters, and environmental degradation.

Let’s look a bit more closely at the negative effects of overpopulation.

Poverty and disease

Poverty is both a cause and effect of overpopulation. Social factors such as lack of education and reproductive care underlie both poverty and population growth, meaning that as long as these needs remain unmet, poverty and overpopulation will continue in a vicious cycle.

The UN projected that the total population of the world’s least developed countries is projected to rise from just over 1 billion people in 2020 to 1.76 billion in 2050. Overcrowding, especially in the most populous cities, leads to health issues caused by smog, pollution, and lack of access to sanitary personal and medical care.

In less developed countries with higher poverty rates, the mortality rate for children and adolescents is higher. In fact, scientists note that epidemics and pandemics are occurring at a more frequent rate and are being fueled by human overpopulation.

Ecological degradation

One of the most pressing effects of overpopulation is the damage our growing population is doing to our planet. Increasing global populations puts more pressure on our Earth’s resources, including our forests, water sources, and biodiversity.

As our cities become more populous and expand outward, we will continue to encroach on the habitats that animals rely on to survive. The increased use of natural resources, as well as added pollution and carbon emissions, will also ultimately exacerbate climate change and global warming.

However, experts also say that consumption is a large piece of the environmental puzzle. Consumption varies greatly between countries, and wealth plays a crucial role.

The UN reports that high-income and upper-middle-income countries contribute about 85% of global carbon dioxide emissions. Meanwhile, in these countries like the U.S. and Canada, fertility rates and the total population has continued to decrease.

Globally, the average carbon footprint is close to 4 tons, while the average carbon footprint for a person in the U.S. is 16 tons, one of the highest rates in the world. Thus, while birthrates fall in the U.S., each person’s impact is damaging our environment more.

Increased conflict

An additional negative impact of overpopulation is the increased occurrence of conflict. Most experts warn that overpopulation and a lack of resources will likely breed unrest and conflict.

A recent study found that population growth increased conflict related to natural resources in particular, especially in countries that are growing slower. The study found that the average population change caused roughly 4.2 additional years of full-blown civil war in the 1980s relative to the 1940s.

While the correlation between overpopulation and conflict is difficult to measure, it’s clear that when communities need to compete for natural resources, the chance of conflict is greater.

Child labor

When children are too young to work or are involved in work activities that compromise their physical, mental, social, and educational development, this is considered child labor.

While the dangers of child labor are clear, many families worldwide put their children to work for various reasons. The underlying causes and effects of overpopulation also contribute to increased child laborers, particularly poverty, lack of education, conflict, and natural disasters.

In the world’s least developed countries, slightly more than 1 in 4 children aged 5 to 17 are engaged in labor detrimental to their health and development.

When poverty levels are high, many families have no choice but to put their children to work. In this way, poverty exacerbates overpopulation because families need more children to contribute to the household. 

Tackling overpopulation: what are the solutions?

The negative effects of overpopulation are drastic and require multifaceted solutions that often go beyond the individual. Now that we understand the causes and effects of overpopulation let’s examine some of the main solutions to this issue.

Education

One large part of combating overpopulation is improving reproductive education around family planning and contraceptive use. As we’ve established, lack of family planning – especially in poorer countries – is one of the main drivers of overpopulation.

Empowering women and girls to understand their options regarding family planning is crucial. More family planning programs should be implemented, especially in communities with high infant mortality rates and birth rates.

As the U.S. Center for Disease Control outlines, some of the elements of a successful family planning program include contraceptives and reproductive health surveys that provide high-quality data on various reproductive health indicators.

Education on family planning, reproductive health, and greater access to schools typically lead women and children to have fewer children. Thus, education is a huge part of decreasing birth rates in especially overpopulated countries.

Sustainable economic growth

As we’ve established, population growth over the next few decades will be driven by the world’s poorest countries. Because poverty worsens overpopulation and vice versa, investing in less developed countries with international aid, fair trade, and global justice will all help bring poverty and population rates down. 

In addition, we should strive for a more equal distribution of resources and transition towards more renewable sources of energy and production in all areas of the world.

One way to do so includes investing in research, development, and innovation to develop better production methods, improving the efficiency of our food production, energy distribution, water access, and more.

Environmental policy

In addition to decreasing birth rates, addressing the consumption of the world’s worst climate offenders is essential. As we know, people in high-income countries tend to overconsume resources.

Enacting policies and incentives that benefit the environment, limit carbon emissions, and protect resources on a national level will help curb some of the negative effects of overpopulation.

While large corporations and the world’s wealthiest individuals are doing the most damage to the Earth, there are still things you can do to fight it. You can take steps in your life that help the environment, such as limiting your waste, using greener products, and adopting renewable energy sources.

Overpopulation causes, effects, and solutions wrap up

The overpopulation causes, effects, and solutions discussed in this guide are almost all interrelated. Various trends, such as poverty and climate change, serve as both causes and effects of overpopulation in many ways.

While there is no easy fix to these complex issues, looking at the whole picture of economic, social, and environmental factors is crucial when attempting to lessen the overpopulation problem.

The burgeoning fast fashion industry comes with a cost. People are wearing their clothes less and discarding them more quickly. The quality and durability of clothing are also down. This keeps the consumer trapped in a cycle of buying which satisfies clothing manufacturers but does massive environmental harm.

The sustainable fashion industry appears to be an alternative to the destructive cycle that is being perpetuated by fast fashion, but how do they compare? In this article, we deep dive into 14 differences between fast fashion vs sustainable fashion that will show you the extent of the crisis in fashion and the possible solutions.

What is fast fashion?

Fast fashion is clothing designed and manufactured to quickly and cheaply copy the latest trends. This type of mass-manufactured clothing is based on runway styles or celebrity outfits. It moves quickly from design through manufacture to stores to take maximum advantage of consumer interest and demand.

People can now purchase the latest looks or get a ‘fashion fix’ affordably. Speedy manufacturing processes and global shipping methods mean companies can continually turn out new collections. This fashion sector moves so quickly that new designs can be on sale multiple times per week.

Fast fashion has changed the way people shop for clothes

Over the last 30 years, how people shop for clothes has completely changed. Before the fast fashion revolution in the late 1990s, people would buy their clothes seasonally and wear them for longer. Clothing was more expensive, and shopping was a big event.

Fashion shows were originally a preview of upcoming clothing collections that would be retailed for months at a time. Fast fashion has changed consumer appetites increasing demand for new styles continuously and the instant gratification of being on trend. The rise of e-commerce has further accelerated these changes.

With fast fashion, quality is low on the list

Fast fashion has been developed to respond quickly to consumer demand with cost-efficient clothing. The priority is to provide fashionable clothing at a low cost, with little care for the quality or durability of the garments.

What is sustainable fashion?

Sustainable, ethical, or eco-fashion is a broad term that encompasses clothing production and distribution methods developed to reduce the environmental impact of clothing production, improve garment worker welfare and introduce social justice to the fashion industry. 

A key aim of sustainable fashion is to completely reform the lifecycle of clothing, from the materials used to manufacture clothes to what happens to clothing at the end of its usable life. This proactive approach to reducing the environmental impact of sustainable fashion has a noted positive impact on the pollution and waste that is notorious in the fashion industry.

Sustainability in fashion has been an issue since the 1960s environmentalism movements, which questioned the necessity of mass-manufacturing clothing and identified its polluting effects. Awareness and adoption of sustainable practices in fashion have been patchy due to the increased costs involved. 

Sustainable fashion has championed key innovations in textile recycling and reprocessing that are gradually being adopted by fast fashion manufacturers that want to improve their ‘green’ credentials. The exemplary practices of the sustainable fashion movement have not fully penetrated the fast fashion industry, which may need to be reformed using tariffs or standards.

14 differences between fast fashion vs sustainable fashion

Understanding the differences between the fast and sustainable fashion industries drives home the scale of the environmental impact of clothing. These two sectors within the fashion industry have massive differences that everyone should know about to make more informed choices about the clothes they wear.

1. Clothing industry size and scale

The global fast fashion market is worth more than $91 billion. Since 2016, it has experienced runaway growth sustaining a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 1.69%. By 2026 industry experts expect that the size of the fast fashion market may have almost doubled to more than $173 billion as adoption increases internationally.

In contrast, sustainable clothing has a much smaller market share. Analysts estimate the size of the ethical fashion market to be over $7.5 billion (2022). This market is also accelerating, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 6.5% since 2017. By 2027 the size of the sustainable fashion market is expected to still be modest relative to fast fashion at $11 billion+.

2. Clothing industry market drivers

Fast fashion has numerous drivers that have kept its market share large. These include:

• The growth of fast fashion and organized retail networks in emerging markets
• High penetration of social media and digital marketing into populations
• A rise in demand for sports and performance wear
• The rise of e-commerce
• Reductions in manufacturing costs due to globalization
• Urbanization
• A burgeoning young population in developing countries and emerging markets

Growth drivers for sustainable fashion have centered on social awareness and include:

• Increasing awareness of poor working conditions endured by workers to deliver fast fashion
• Awareness of the negative environmental impact of fast fashion
• Consumer demand for sustainable or ethical fashion
• Reductions in free trade and access to global markets
• Raw material shortages

3. Raw materials used

Fast fashion is a massive consumer of natural resources. Every year, 70 million barrels of oil go into producing synthetic fibers and fabrics for shiny, stretchy, and clingy fast fashion.

And it’s not only synthetics that are a problem. Fast fashion also places strain on global cotton availability.

The high turnover of these cheap clothes also consumes vast amounts of water and energy, in their continuous production, making this a very resource-expensive type of clothing over the long term.

In contrast, sustainable fashion reuses and repurposes existing textiles or uses demonstrably sustainable materials like hemp or bamboo linen. The sustainable fashion industry avoids the use of raw materials for fabric as much as possible. Investment goes into the advanced reprocessing of waste textiles, meaning using fewer raw materials.

4. Manufacturing methods

Fast fashion has been made possible by introducing automation and mass manufacturing of fabrics and garments. Fabrics are spun from oil-based synthetic fibers and woven into cheap fabrics.

By the time they are sewn into garments, these poor-quality fabrics have been bleached or dyed, treated with retardants and other chemicals, and printed. The prioritization of speed and low cost means that the assembly quality is poor, meaning that many items may even be discarded before they leave the manufacturing plant.

Sustainable clothing manufacturers take large volumes of discarded textiles that are shredded, respun, and woven into new fabrics. These recycled fabrics underpin sustainable clothing manufacture. Dyes, printing, and embellishments use eco-friendly materials.

5. Garment factory conditions

Fast fashion requires a supply chain developed for speed so that clothing manufacturers can rapidly respond to new trends. To achieve high volume, rapidly produced clothing cheaply, fashion firms may neglect ethical standards and use factories that have poor working conditions. Issues affecting workers in the garment industry include the sexual exploitation of women, child labor, and sweatshops.

Take a look inside the fast fashion industry:

The holistic approach of sustainable fashion is less intensive with greater concern for the welfare of workers. This usually makes clothing production more expensive and slower. Sustainable fashion consumers are concerned that garment trade workers are paid fair wages and have decent working conditions.

6. Chemical use

The textile industry uses a variety of hazardous chemicals and toxins that damage human health and the environment. These chemicals are used at every stage of processing and finishing fabrics and garments and include, bleaching agents, dyes, surfactants, and inks.

Examples of toxic chemicals routinely used in fast fashion include:

• Formaldehyde
• Quaternary ammonium compounds
• Oxy-ethylated polyamides
• Silica gel
• Disperse dyes
• Azo dyes
• Chlorinated flame retardants

Though these chemicals improve the look and feel of garments, they generate hazardous wastewater that can pollute drinking water and harm aquatic life. Many of these chemicals are allergens and aggravate conditions like asthma and eczema.

Some of these chemicals are also used in sustainable fashion production as garments are expected to meet legal standards of flame retardancy and achieve a wearable finish.

However, sustainable garments tend to use fabric processing compounds that are free from the most toxic chemicals and limit the impact of textile production on waterways and the wider environment. Quality standards such as Oeko-Tex® are used to assure consumers that harmful chemicals are not present in the garments.

7. Garment quality

One of the biggest differences between fast fashion and sustainable fashion is the quality and durability of the garments produced. They are not intended to last long as the fast fashion industry wants customers to buy new clothes repeatedly.

Fast fashion is designed to be low-cost and high turnover to satisfy the demands of fleeting trends. This means that companies cut costs on the quality of fabrics and their assembly leading to cheap clothes that do not wash or wear well and are soon discarded.

Sustainable fashion takes a different, less consumer-centric approach. Garment design and manufacture are far more considered, with a focus on increasing the longevity of clothes so that fewer raw materials are required long term. Sustainable fashion manufacturers and retailers may invest in novel recycled textiles, repurposed and recycled clothing, and better garment assembly to deliver a better quality, albeit more expensive, product.

8. Cost of clothing

The factors that determine the price a customer pays for an item of clothing include:

• Fabric costs
• The price of notions and embellishments like buttons and zippers
• Labor costs for making the garment
• Transport, logistics, and warehousing costs for completed garment orders
• Marketing and merchandising costs
• Manufacturer, supplier, and retailer profit

Fast fashion is designed to be cheap and accessible to the widest possible range of customers. At every stage of a fast, mass-produced fashion’s design, production, marketing, and retail, costs are kept as low as possible so that sales volumes can be maximized.

The fast fashion industry cannot entertain concepts like recycling or reprocessing textiles as they add cost to the business model. As long as it is cheaper to work with raw materials, this fast fashion will continue to consume them.

Sustainable clothing is currently more expensive than fast fashion, especially as its sales volumes are lower. Sustainable fashion costs more to produce, especially when a fair wage and ethical employment practices are implemented in factories. Reprocessing waste fabrics to make new materials is also expensive and energy intensive.

These costs are passed on to the customer who often makes a deliberate decision to buy sustainable clothing. However, the quality and durability of sustainable garments mean that consumers can avoid buying new garments repeatedly.

9. Waste

Just take a look at what is happening in Kenya and other parts of the world right now because of fast fashion:

Fast fashion generates huge waste. Consumers are saturated with an immense amount of choice, meaning that vast quantities of wearable clothing often go straight to waste. If garments go unused and unsold, they often end up in landfills or shipped abroad, where the poor quality of the garments means that they are quickly discarded.

According to Earth.org, 92 million tonnes of fabric waste is produced each year, with over $500 billion wasted due to underworn and discarded clothes. Every American discards at least 81.5 pounds (37 kilograms) of clothing annually. Waste textiles are a massive pollutant, choking waterways and releasing microplastics into seas.

The sustainable fashion movement has emerged, in part, due to the shocking levels of fast fashion waste. Innovative manufacturers actively recycle waste textiles to make better quality clothing that does not need to be discarded.

As consumers become more aware of the impact that their appetite for disposable clothing is having on the environment, many are optioning to purchase sustainable items.

10. Clothing product miles

The fashion industry is responsible for at least 10% of global CO₂ emissions, with each garment often clocking up many ‘product miles’ before it gets to the consumer. The supply chain for fashion is global with fabric and clothing routinely traveling by shipping or air freight, which are both highly polluting.

Some sustainable clothing is also transported using these methods, but designers and manufacturers within this sector have also explored minimizing the product miles of the clothing they produce by making garments locally.

In Western countries, this can add significantly to the cost of producing clothing especially compared to factories in Asia and Latin America, where fast fashion is mass-produced.

11. Recycling clothing

Despite being entirely possible, clothing recycling is not a part of the fast fashion business model. Fast fashion retailers’ singular concern is selling as many products as possible, with little care for where it ends up long-term.

The marketing of this type of clothing is focused on its appearance and how you’ll feel wearing it with little mention of its quality or sustainability. Though marketing channels could be used to promote clothing recycling, it is not part of the lifespan of a fast fashion garment.

Sustainable fashion has championed and advanced textile reprocessing and recycling since its inception. This jeans factory in Pakistan is a great example:

Textile recycling methods that this sector has championed have begun to be adopted by mainstream clothing brands. For example, H&M, a fast fashion retailer, has invested in its textile recycling machines to create sustainable clothing for sale in its stores:

12. Repairs and alterations

Fast fashion is cheaply made and not designed for repairs or alteration. A fast fashion garment’s materials and fabrication quality are already low when purchased, meaning that the garment fails quickly after sustained washing and wear. Throwing damaged clothing, shoes, and accessories in the bin is often cheaper than paying for a professional repair.

Sustainable fashion seeks to be part of a circular economy, where the longevity of garments can be maximized by incentivizing repair. Clothing companies and retailers transitioning to becoming more sustainable have introduced alteration and repair services for the garments they sell to encourage people to wear their clothes for longer. Levis is a great example:

13. Brands and retailers

Fast fashion is big business, and international brands are profiting from churning out massive volumes of cheap clothing, which is then shipped worldwide. Many customers need to be made aware of the provenance and environmental impact of their clothing, which limits their inclination and opportunity to make a sustainable choice.

Examples of fast fashion international brands include:

• Shein
• BooHoo
• Uniqlo
• Primark
• Victoria’s Secret
• GAP
• Zara
• Fashion Nova
• H&M

Sustainable fashion brands are more niche. Their smaller market share means that customers consciously decide to purchase them, often because they seek a more sustainable lifestyle.

Examples of sustainable fashion brands with global reach include:

• Stella McCartney
• Patagonia
• Craghoppers
• Levis
• PACT
• Everlane
• thredUP

For more examples of sustainable fashion brands, check out our round-up reviews of the best sustainable swimwear, sustainable pajamas, and sustainable slippers.

14. Sustainability

Fast fashion simply is not sustainable long-term. It is a massive polluter of the environment, consumers, and natural resources and a sustainer of unethical labor practices worldwide. In many parts of the world, especially countries that are heavily polluted by textile waste, people are seeking for fast fashion companies to take responsibility for the massive amounts of waste and pollution they are generating.

The sustainable fashion industry could be better, but using recycled textiles, opting for eco-friendly dyes, and producing better quality garments is rapidly progressing towards a sustainable, circular economy.

Rounding up

People care about the environmental impact of fashion, but it isn’t always the first thing that comes to mind when you want to look good. For far too long, the fast fashion industry has gotten away with producing cheap disposable clothing without bearing the costs of the environmental problems they are generating.

Sustainable fashion is gradually becoming more widely adopted, but fast fashion companies need to be disincentivized from squandering natural resources on what is essential clothing waste. Some fast fashion companies, like H&M, are beginning to step up to their responsibilities and demonstrate that fast fashion can treat the Earth (and their customers) much better.

However, a lot of the headline discourse on environmental issues is going on at a political level, far away from the mundanities of everyday life. This means it’s easy to wonder why should we care for the environment, especially if you’re not glued to the news.

If you’re looking for the reasons why we should care for the environment, this article explores the seven key reasons why the environment and its care should matter to every person on the planet.

What do we mean when we refer to ‘the environment’?

Put plainly, the environment is the sum of all living and non-living things on Earth (including climate, radiation, electrical phenomena, and weather) and their non-artificial relationships and interactions. The natural environment exists on a continuum with environments that are artificial or at least heavily influenced by man.

The environment spans vast natural ecosystems, including rock, soil, water, and vegetation. Natural resources like fossil fuels and the atmosphere are also part. Constituent ecosystems within the environment consist of various forms of life, ranging from microorganisms to animals.

Of course, the environment we experience today has been shaped by the activity of man. Built environments are the opposite of natural environments and have been completely modified and developed to meet the requirements of man. Examples of built environments are farms and cities where the natural environment has been altered or effaced, and something else is in its place.

The environment has been impacted by the activity of mankind with contemporary challenges that include:

• Pollution
• Biodiversity loss
• Natural resource depletion
• Atmospheric and climatic changes

7 reasons why we should protect the environment?

1. Environmental degradation is destroying our health

The material benefits of the industrial revolution to much of the world are undeniable, but one of the major downsides of industrialization has been the massive amounts of pollution generated, with a catastrophic impact on human health.

Pollution generated by industrial processes such as mining, transportation, manufacturing, energy generation, and even food processing is incredibly pernicious, affecting almost every organ system in the body.

In many cases, such as the Dupont PFOA scandal, the DDT controversy, and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the environment has been deliberately damaged through the dumping of industrial waste or negligent operational procedures.

Recognized effects of environmental pollution on human health include:

Respiratory disease

Air pollution is one of the most serious environmental issues and has been suggested by the UN to cause over 7 million premature deaths each year. Urban areas are particularly affected by dense particulate pollution that can cause or exacerbate respiratory diseases like asthma, bronchitis, and COPD.

In addition, indoor air pollution due to inadequately ventilated cooking or heating puts over a quarter of the world’s population at risk of developing cardiovascular or respiratory health problems.

Reproductive disorders

In many parts of the world, the environment has been polluted by the persistence of a variety of endocrine-disrupting chemicals. These ubiquitous chemicals, which include pesticides, plastics, heavy metals, and the oral contraceptive pill, disrupt the hormone-controlled reproductive processes of humans and animals.

Reproductive disorders like infertility, subfertility, and menstrual disorders may be driven by the pernicious effects of endocrine disruptors in our environment. Sampled average male sperm counts have decreased significantly since the middle of the 20th century, and the downward trend is accelerating.

Cancer

Environmental pollution has led to the widespread dissemination of cancer-causing chemicals called carcinogens. These substances are incredibly diverse and include byproducts of combustion, pesticides, hazardous waste, and ionizing radiation.

Prolonged exposure to these agents has been implicated in the development of cancers in people of all ages. For example, people living in environments with high levels of PM2.5 particulate pollution are at an increased risk of developing lung cancer.

2. Destruction of the environment puts the global food supply at risk

Environmental welfare is a distant thought when we buy our food from grocery stores and markets, but the effects of environmental damage are evident to the food producers who rely on clean water, fertile soil, and a supportive climate to grow and raise our food.

Agriculture is reliant on the environment but can also be one of the biggest polluters due to the use of pesticides, fertilizers, and the generation of agricultural waste. This essential sector is now being threatened by environmental damage in a variety of ways. Examples include:

• Decreasing biodiversity and soil degradation because of intensive farming techniques.
• Loss of viable agricultural land because of the physical presence of a landfill.
• Long-term land and water contamination from landfill leachate.
• Soil and water contamination due to the improper disposal of hazardous waste.
• Pesticides cause the loss of natural pollinators like bees, wasps, and other insects.
• Land loss because of desertification or flooding, driven by climate change. 
• Loss of farmland to construction to accommodate urban sprawl.

The effects of environmental changes may not be apparent in economically advanced countries because they can afford to import food. But poorer countries have a greater dependence on their domestic agricultural production to supply their food. These countries may also be food exporters, putting pressure on available land and compromising food security.

3. Caring for the environment helps us to live productive lives

The welfare of the environment is also important to our ability to work and the wider economy. Pollution has tangible human and economic costs that impact the lives of communities and nations.

According to the Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health pollution and environmental damage cost the global economy up to $4.6 trillion per year, more than 6% of the total economic output of the world! A large contribution to this sum is the loss of human productivity from health problems, polluted land, and population displacement due to environmental changes.

Human activity needs to be sustainable if we are to maintain our environment long-term and lead productive healthy lives. Developing sustainable ways of living and managing the Earth’s resources is, in fact, a major economic opportunity that could lift billions of people out of poverty.

For example, the $65 billion the United States has invested in air pollution control since the 1970s has yielded over $1.5 trillion in economic benefit. New and innovative solutions for the world’s most challenging environmental problems could lead to commercial sectors that every country can access and use profitably. 

4. Environmental integrity promotes peace

Though the causes of war are multifactorial, environmental degradation can be a significant stressor as nations and communities compete for dwindling natural resources. Over the last century, there have been numerous domestic and international conflicts as nations and people fight over water, land for agriculture and grazing, and natural resources.

Environmental changes like deforestation and desertification limit the natural resources available to communities. In pastoral or subsistence farming communities, the integrity and resilience of the environment can be the difference between life and death and increases the potential for struggles for the remaining land.

Wars damage and pollute the environment, exacerbating the scarcity surviving people experience. There needs to be a global effort to ensure that environmental conditions do not deteriorate in the poorest and most challenged regions so that people are less likely to resort to conflict.

5. Protecting the environment prevents the displacement of people 

Migration is a global issue that is heavily affected by environmental degradation. Pollution, drought, and local climate and weather changes are making parts of the earth uninhabitable for existing populations and leading to involuntary migration.

Environmentally displaced people

These people termed ‘Environmentally displaced people’, have no choice but to leave regions that have been degraded by environmental degradation or natural disasters, leaving them unable to pursue their livelihoods.

Large population shifts because of environmental change 

The neglect of environmental issues and subsequent stress and degradation could lead to upward of 200 million people being forced to leave their homeland and resettle by 2050. According to Oxford University’s Refugees Studies Center, countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Ghana, Kenya, and Somalia as well as the Pacific island are already affected by this problem.

6. Future generations will have to survive on the Earth we leave behind 

We are responsible for the environmental legacy we leave to future generations. All human activity affects the environment in some way. Sustained negative impact on ecosystems, will lead to the depletion of natural resources and loss of biodiversity, leaving the next generation to inherit our contaminated land, water, and air.

Unrestrained consumption leads to loss of resources

We are currently in the midst of a massive loss of biodiversity, with 25% of wild species facing extinction. This leaves the world a poorer and ecologically scarcer place with the absence of species that may have performed vital but unrecognized roles.

Industry and governmental stakeholders are already aware that the current rate of consumption of natural resources like oil may become critically diminished as the decades roll on. Future generations may not be able to live a lifestyle similar to the ones we’re used to.

However, the outlook isn’t all negative. Recognizing the need to care for the environment returns us precious time to remedy current environmental problems and find new ways to live more sustainably. With effort and investment, we may be able to leave the Earth better than we found it.

7. We are all called to be stewards of the environment we have received

Whatever your belief system, there is an innate understanding of our sovereignty and the need for us to become stewards of the resources that are in our care. Over millennia, mankind has cultivated and tended to its immediate environment with plant and animal husbandry continuing to be a key means of survival to the present day.

But, the mass production of goods and services and careless consumer culture has robbed many people of the sense of responsibility and moral obligation by which efforts could be made to live in a way that is less environmentally damaging. Not caring for or about the environment often serves the agenda of corporate interests that want to sell products at all costs.

Environmental damage for profit

Much of the damage to the environment has not been committed by individuals but by corporations who have exploited environmental resources for profits and polluted carelessly. Great wealth has been generated and is now held by stakeholders who have taught populations the consumerism that is now condemned. 

Control of populations 

Since the early 20th century, urbanization has accelerated. At the start of the 20th century, half of Americans lived on farms. The number of farms in the US has steadily declined from 7 million in the 1930s to 2 million today.

The impact of this massive shift in how people live, and work is that vast populations are completely disconnected from the land and obligated to be consumers of food and goods with little choice or say in how they are produced. This alienation is often the root of indifference to environmental issues across the world.

Making the individual a stakeholder

Fostering engaged, self-determining communities that care for the environment would require whole populations to regain sovereignty that has been ceded to commercial and governmental interests, with critical thinking and reflection on how the present environmental challenges have arisen. 

Many governments espouse behavioral change, sustainability, and reduced resource consumption as the key solutions to the environmental challenges of the 21st century, but without the reclamation of personal responsibility and equitable access and ownership of land, these changes are likely to be cosmetic.

The environment affects everyone

For many people, their immediate environment in a city or town is completely removed from rainforests, rivers, deserts, and the natural disasters we hear about on the news.

Caring for their environment may involve picking up litter, recycling, or choosing to drive an electric car. It is hard to see how the daily activities of running a household and feeding oneself are connected to famines and droughts.

Many countries are geographically and economically shielded from the stark consequences of environmental degradation, but they cannot be indefinitely insulated. Famine, war, and migration are capable of reaching any shore, and decades of unrestrained pollution affect the health of everyone.

Caring for our environment is a must if we want to guarantee ourselves a healthy life, as well as a good life for future generations. Our environment is life-sustaining and must be preserved for all.

How can we save our Earth?

Across the world, people are rightly concerned about the state of the environment and want to take action to make things better. The are numerous initiatives and protest movements that are pressing for urgent changes to the way we live to mitigate environmental damage. 

However, the steps that need to be taken aren’t specific actions, behavioral or lifestyle changes. These are superficial as long as the stakeholders who undertake the most polluting activities for profit on an industrial scale can continue to do so without meaningful change.

In many countries, a significant amount of the waste the people diligently separate for recycling is landfilled because it costs ‘too much’ money to recycle. Electric vehicles run on electricity generated by cutting down trees and shipping them thousands of miles to be burnt, all for profit. Groceries clock up thousands of air miles when they could have been grown locally.

Here are some thoughts on how the environment can be helped:

Regain individual sovereignty

We’re only going to care for the environment when we cultivate personal responsibility and see ourselves as stakeholders in the environment we live in. We need to push back against the disenfranchisement that comes with consumerism and dig deeper.

Take time to learn about the state of our environment and its root causes, drawing information from a range of sources that you can critically evaluate. Think objectively about the way we live and the true cost of convenience in advanced economies.

Develop productive local communities

Armed with personal sovereignty, people can come together and reason to gain a collective, objective understanding of why environmental change has happened and what needs to be done. With cooperation, productivity can shift from taking place at a national or international level to a local scale so communities become resilient and truly sustainable.

Strengthen national sovereignty

With strong, locally productive communities, nations become better equipped to manage their environment by harnessing the skills and expertise of their population to develop strong domestic economies. 

Rather than selling out to supranational interests, lawmakers and governments can hold these corporate and financial entities to account so that they have to change their polluting activities at their own expense.

As Steve Cohen from the Columbia Climate School states;

“I believe that on a more crowded planet, with instant and inexpensive global communication, a company that engages in wanton acts of environmental destruction will not survive long in the marketplace.”

Develop a less opportunistic global economy

We live in societies that are dominated by the demands of economic systems rather than what is best for individuals, communities, and the environment. This has led to the prioritization of global economic agendas and profiteering at the expense of environmental welfare and authentic sustainability.

Not everything should be done because a profit can be made, but until countries regain their sovereignty, they and their citizens are largely captive to a way of living that damages the environment and generates vast profits for a small group of people.

A step in the right direction would be nations coming together to insist that the crippling debts that prevent poorer countries from developing basic infrastructure for sanitation, waste management, and other environmental problems are canceled.

So why should we care for the environment? Because we need change!

Caring for the environment is really caring for ourselves, but it needs to be done with understanding rather than superficial choices and activities that do not contend with the sources of large-scale environmental degradation.

By making the decision to become an engaged and informed citizen, you can start to build grassroots communities that are truly sustainable and hold the sovereignty and power to hold the corporate polluters to account.

The average American produces 4.51 pounds of trash a day up from 2.68 pounds in 1960. Recycling has long been touted as the solution, but there are downsides to recycling too.

Pros and cons of recycling

Recycling can be an important part of waste management: effective recycling of all kinds of materials can prevent them from clogging up landfill, polluting the environment, and can avoid the environmental strain caused by manufacturing new items.

However, there are many issues associated with recycling. It’s important to understand these complexities in order to make more eco-friendly decisions not only around how you deal with your waste, but in how you live your life more generally.

Advantages of recycling

Before we dive into the issues and challenges associated with recycling, let’s take a look at the benefits of this approach and why it can be valuable in some circumstances.

Recycling helps reduce pollution

Traditionally, the world has dealt with its trash in one of two ways, both of which cause pollution:

In addition to these types of pollution, landfill also causes other kinds of environmental degradation. Most notably, large tracts of native habitats are cleared to make way for landfill, resulting in deforestation, which can, in turn, threaten endemic species, lead to water scarcity, and contribute to climate change.

One of the major benefits of recycling is that it can greatly reduce the amount of trash we send to landfills or incinerators, helping to reduce pollution as well as avoid other environmental problems associated with these approaches.

Additionally, responsibly recycling hazardous waste ensures that it won’t pollute the environment and threaten human health. For example, one quart of engine oil can contaminate over two million gallons of fresh water if not disposed of properly.

For advice on how to recycle or otherwise responsibly dispose of tricky household items, see our posts on LED light bulbs, kitchen knives, propane tanks, and broken glass.

Recycling cuts energy and resource use

By recovering materials rather than sending them to landfill, we don’t need to mine or manufacture new ones, thereby protecting our planet’s limited resources.

Furthermore, the mining and manufacturing industries damage the environment in a range of ways from clearing native habitats to leaching toxins into the soil and waterways and emitting greenhouse gasses which contribute to climate change.

Therefore, recycling materials can help to scale back these activities and reduce their negative impacts on the environment.

Recycling also helps to save on the energy needed to make these new products and materials. Although the recycling process uses some energy, this is generally much less than manufacturing new materials.

Glass, for example, requires less energy to recycle than manufacture, as existing glass melts at much lower temperatures than its raw materials. In this way, recycling helps to reduce fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, as well as having economic benefits.

Recycling raises awareness of environmental issues

Getting people to recycle can have impacts far beyond the initial effect of recycling that plastic bottle or BRITA filter. By getting more involved in this process and making an effort to dispose of our trash more responsibly, we become more conscious of our eco-footprint.

Essentially, going through our trash and recycling what we can makes us think about the environment and how we impact it, on a regular basis. It makes us think about how much waste we create, and may well encourage us to take steps to reduce this.

Furthermore, for anyone who wants to be more eco-friendly, recycling can be an easy first step to take, as well as being a great way to teach kids about environmental issues. It can also be an important part of a mindset shift that may open people up to be more environmentally-friendly in other ways too.

In some cases, this can pave the way for other lifestyle choices that go even further to protect the planet, such as composting, installing solar panels, or avoiding palm oil.

Recycling can save you money

Not only can recycling be beneficial to the environment, but it can also be advantageous to your wallet.

You can make money through recycling certain materials, most notably some types of metals – learn how here. You’re unlikely to earn large amounts this way, but it’s something!

Some towns also offer cash incentives for recycling glass items or aluminum cans. Products made from recycled materials are often cheaper, so opting for these kinds of products can save you some cash.

The recycling industry creates jobs

Recycling is a labor-intensive process: large numbers of people are needed to run recycling facilities, from transporting and processing waste to creating new products from recovered materials. In this way, the industry can create a range of skilled and semi-skilled jobs.

Ecocycle.org estimates that we would generate around 1.1 million jobs in the USA if the recycling rate increased to 75%. Currently, we recycle around 30% of solid municipal waste.

According to the same organization, recycling and reuse creates nine times more job opportunities than incinerators and landfill sites.

Furthermore, the recycling industry has the potential to drive economic growth, creating new jobs as it does.

Pitfalls of recycling

While recycling can be environmentally, socially, and economically beneficial, the wide-spread and aggressive campaigns promoting it over the past few decades have overlooked its risks and downsides. This has also led to it becoming something of a band-aid solution that can allow us to overlook the more challenging, underlying causes of our waste problems.

Our recyclables may be exported

China took almost half of the world’s recycling waste for decades until they banned the process in 2018. In the years immediately before the ban, many Western countries exported large volumes of their recyclables there: in 2016, the US alone sent them 16 million tons of paper, metal, and plastic.

Of these, around one-third were not recycled due to contamination and ended up littering the Chinese countryside and oceans instead. We continue to send our recycling to low-income countries across the world, such as Kenya, Senegal, Ethiopia, Ghana, Laos, Bangladesh, and Cambodia.

Not only does this pass the waste problem on to others who are probably less equipped to deal with it, but it means we lose control of the process and how much of these materials are actually recycled. Not to mention the greenhouse gas emissions generated by transporting literal mountains of trash across the globe.

We also lose control of how this waste is handled, as the Chinese example shows: around 1.5 million metric tons of plastic is dumped off the coast of the country every year. It’s disturbing to think how much of this may be our own waste that we dutifully sent to recycling.

Furthermore, as more countries institute bans against accepting foreign recyclables – Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia quickly followed China and introduced laws against importing plastic waste – we need to look for other options. As a result, we’re increasingly relying on countries with poor environmental protections, opening this situation up to even worse impacts on the planet.

Recycling inadvertently encourages us to use disposable items

Critics say that recycling gives us a false sense of security, as it makes us feel like we’re solving our waste problem when really it’s only slowing down or delaying the damage we’re causing the environment. 

Recycling isn’t really the ultimate solution to pollution and waste management as it uses large amounts of energy, is expensive, and can be hazardous to people and the environment if not done properly.

Furthermore, plastics can only be recycled a limited number of times: usually once or twice, so we still need to keep manufacturing more plastic items.

It can even encourage us to use non-recyclable materials. For example, not all plastics are readily recyclable, but many people don’t understand this, so may use them under the false assumption that they can be recycled.

In this way, recycling can potentially do more harm than good by allowing us to justify using disposable items, not to mention using energy and resources as well as producing pollution and greenhouse gasses during the manufacture of these items and during the recycling process itself.

Recycling programs also fail to address our biggest source of waste. In the US, food waste makes up the biggest proportion of municipal trash.

Food can’t be recycled, so by focusing on recycling as the main solution, we’re overlooking this key issue. Food waste not only clogs up landfills and emits pollution as it breaks down there, but producing much more food than we need has a range of negative impacts on the environment, from the use of toxic fertilizers and pesticides to contributing to climate change.

Recycling requires consumers to carefully prep their recycling

Another major problem is it relies on individuals to prepare their recyclables properly before putting them out curbside or sending them to a recycling facility.

Recyclables can be contaminated by food waste or because they’re mixed with materials the recycling facility won’t accept, such as straws and plastic bags. Such items are a huge red flag for recycling centers as they could get stuck in machinery and damage very expensive equipment.

If items are not thoroughly cleaned and properly sorted it not only makes that item unrecyclable, but it contaminates the whole load. Essentially, one greasy food container could mean that an entire truck of recyclable materials gets sent to landfill.

Recycling uses energy and can generate pollution

Unlike reducing and reusing, recycling is a fairly energy-intensive process. Unless this energy is produced from renewable sources, it means relying on finite fossil fuels, which also generates greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to climate change.

Waste to energy plants could be a solution to this issue, but are not common in the USA.

Although recycling generally consumes less energy than sourcing and producing new materials, it’s better to avoid this energy use at all, for example, by reducing our consumption.

Properly recycling everything from plastic to silicon does not generally cause pollution and eliminates the soil, air, and water pollution caused by other forms of waste disposal. However, if the recycling process is not managed properly, it can contaminate the environment in a range of ways.

Electronics, for example, are sometimes sent to developing countries for recycling, where non-recyclable components may be thrown out, polluting land and waterways if that country doesn’t have strong regulations in place to prevent this.

Likewise, if plastics are not processed properly, they can release VOCs, volatile organic compounds, when they melt, which pose a risk to both human health and the environment. This can be damaging to human health, as well as pollute the local environment, threatening plants and animals.

Along with environmental risks, there can also be safety risks for workers if facilities are not properly managed. For example, If facilities don’t take proper safety precautions, workers may be exposed to toxic components when they hand-sort trash or handle recyclable materials.

Recycling is actually expensive

Recycling is an expensive process, and this is even more true of the initial costs required to set up recycling programs and infrastructure in the first place.

Import bans from China and other countries have also made recycling less economically viable. Just a few years ago, local governments across the US could make money selling recyclable materials.

These sums were generally modest – not a substantial revenue stream, but enough to make it worthwhile for sanitation departments to recycle all kinds of materials. However, now the situation has completely reversed, with towns needing to pay huge sums of money to run their recycling programs.

The US’ dependence on exporting recyclables for so many years meant that, unlike some European countries for example, we never developed extensive recycling infrastructure, exacerbating these issues.

The comparative cost of recycling also depends on other waste disposal options and how expensive they are. For example, in the US, it’s relatively easy and affordable to find space for landfills, making recycling programs a less attractive option.

This cost-benefit ratio relationship means some materials are more difficult to recycle than others and makes the future of recycling uncertain. Around 100 towns have already suspended their curbside recycling programs.

The real question is how long will cash-strapped local authorities sponsor our addiction to disposable materials?

How can we fix the recycling problem?

One solution that would address some of the issues associated with recycling in the US would be to invest in recycling systems and infrastructure. This would make the process more efficient and cost-effective, making it more viable for local authorities to sponsor local recycling programs.

In turn, this would reduce our reliance on exporting our recyclable materials, giving us more control over how much of our waste is actually recycled and under what conditions, and avoid dumping our waste problems on other countries.

This investment would also need to be matched by a commitment by authorities to sponsor recycling programs, as even with better infrastructure, these processes are still costly. 

Encouraging businesses to use recycled materials in their products would also help to expand the domestic market and make recycling more economically viable, though it’s unlikely to cover all costs.

Legislation to restrict or eliminate landfill could also be part of the solution. Making it more expensive to send our trash to landfill would make recycling comparatively more affordable.

Simply put, as things stand, we make it too easy to send waste to landfill, passing the cost on to the environment instead.

A more radical approach could be to pass the cost of recycling disposable materials on to the companies that produce them, such as by requiring brands to pay a deposit or penalty for selling products in certain types of packing or containers. This would ultimately pass the cost on to the consumer, as manufacturers would undoubtedly put their prices up accordingly.

However, it would also encourage both brands and their customers to explore other options, including truly zero-waste solutions.

Although these steps can help to make recycling more efficient and cost-effective, a big part of the solution should also be pursuing alternatives in order to reduce our reliance on recycling.

Viable alternatives to recycling

While recycling undoubtedly has its place in both waste management and living an eco-friendly lifestyle, it’s not the end of the story. In fact, recycling should arguably be seen as a last resort after you’ve tried other approaches to dealing with and eliminating waste.

Go zero-waste

A zero-waste approach can go a long way to minimize our impact on the environment. There are a range of ways to achieve a zero-waste lifestyle, such as:

• Only buy products in reusable containers, and get refills of everything from grains to shampoo
• Compost your organic waste
• Look for zero-waste products such as toothpaste, deodorant, and even toilet paper
• Get creative and reuse, repurpose, and upcycle whenever possible
• Buy second-hand clothing and accessories rather than new items

Going completely zero-waste can be a challenge, especially at first. However, avoiding single-use plastics with reusable bottles, coffee cups, and shopping bags can be a good start.

Opt for quality over quantity

Another powerful way to reduce both our rate of consumption and the amount of waste we produce is by buying quality products.

Society has become geared toward cheap, disposable products. Much of what we buy today, from clothing and electronics to single-use plastics, is only built to be used for a short period of time before it breaks, wears out, or stops working.

On the surface, this doesn’t matter, as we can easily buy a replacement for a nominal cost. However, the cost is passed on to the environment through the additional drain on resources and energy needed to manufacture new items, not to mention the waste that is produced.

In contrast, when we buy good-quality items that last a long time, they don’t need to be replaced so often, so we throw away less. Additionally, less energy and resources need to be used to produce the replacement items we buy.

We can even go a step further and try to cut down on the amount of stuff we buy entirely. It’s important to buy quality-made products, but in some cases, we can avoid buying anything at all by adopting a more minimalist approach.

Repair rather than throw away

All too often, we throw away items that could be as good as new with a little TLC. Your toaster breaks, and instead of taking it to the repair shop, you jump online to buy a new one.

Likewise, the heel comes off your favorite pair of boots (an easy fix), and you buy a new pair, or rather than mending a ripped seam in that near-new sweater, you get a new one.

The low cost and easy availability of all kinds of consumer items are largely to blame for this: it’s often quicker and even cheaper to buy a replacement than to have it repaired (or fix it yourself).

However, the cost to the earth is immense: every new product we buy takes energy and materials to make and probably produces pollution in the process. What’s more, our old item becomes trash that ends up in landfill or pollutes our waterways.

In contrast, repairing things typically involves minimal use of energy and resources, making this a huge net gain for the environment.

Should we skip recycling?

The short answer to this question is no: we shouldn’t ditch recycling entirely. Recycling can be an effective way to deal with trash and can form a vital part of a multifaceted approach to waste management and looking after the environment more generally.

However, over-reliance, particularly using recycling as an excuse not to pursue other tactics, is highly problematic, especially over the long term.

Arguably, we should see recycling as a short-term solution while we restructure how society functions, from production to consumer habits, in order to slash the amount of waste we produce or, better still, eliminate it entirely.

Check out our guides to recycling difficult items like cork and razor blades, and learn more about going zero-waste.

This considered approach to harnessing resources maintains them so they can be harnessed over the long term. Sustainability has the potential to transform society with a new generation of high-longevity enterprises that are self-sustaining.

This article explains sustainability and shares 20 real-world examples of thriving businesses and projects that embrace sustainability.

What is sustainability?

Sustainability is the ability for an activity or process to be supplied and supported continuously over an indefinite period or at least a long time. Sustainable commercial or industrial activities minimize their environmental impact and consumption of natural resources.

In recent times, sustainability has come to the fore as governments, think tanks, and other stakeholders look for solutions to problems like environmental degradation and the depletion of natural resources. Sustainable business practices could lead to meaningful change and improvements regarding biodiversity loss and pollution while providing economic stimulus through innovative new sectors.

We categorize sustainability as economic, environmental, or social. Environmental sustainability is focused on resource conservation, while social sustainability involves diversity, inclusion, and equity to ensure that enterprises or projects can maximize their engagement. Ideally, environmentally and socially sustainable projects will be economically sustainable, providing long-term economic growth on a local or national scale.

20 examples of sustainability from around the world

The best way to understand sustainability is to see it in action in real-world scenarios. These 20 examples come from around the world, with businesses and organizations of all sizes finding ingenious ways to be productive in a sustainable way. Take a look at these remarkable examples of sustainability:

1. Mobius Farms’ Black Soldier Fly larvae farming in Australia

Mobius Farms in Barossa Valley, South Australia, is an excellent example of sustainable and innovative agriculture, turning food waste into a protein-rich animal feed with commercial value.

This farm breeds the black solider fly, a common fly species known for its fat and protein-rich larvae used to supplement feed for chicken and other livestock and pets.

Mobius Farns collects large volumes of food waste from hospitality businesses, breweries, and caterers. Voracious black soldier fly larvae feed on this waste and produce nutrient-rich manure that farms and community gardens can use.

These little critters are so efficient that one kilo of harvest-ready black soldier fly larvae can consume more than 4 kilos of food waste. The process is entirely sustainable and requires minimal water and land. The farm sells live, dead, and dehydrated larvae to farms and the public.

2. Sambhav’s reclamation of degraded land in India

The work of Sabarmatee and her father, Radhamohan, in Odisha State, India, is an amazing example of how degraded land can be reclaimed to become fruitful and productive long-term. 

In 1988 the father-daughter duo purchased an acre of degraded land. This was done as an experiment to see if the land could be transformed into a forest using simple organic techniques. When they began their project, organic farming was not widespread in India, so they has to acquire knowledge and expertise as they went along.

Their efforts in transforming the land into a fertile, naturally irrigated food forest were successful, and the land reclamation has grown to a humbling 90 acres and initiatives to provide local communities with food and occupation.

Sabarmatee continues her father’s work under an NGO called Sambhav, teaching organic cultivation techniques, cataloging heirloom seeds, and furthering Indian ecological conservation.

3. The Zero-Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) movement in India

The ZNBF movement is another Indian initiative creating a new, sustainable, and inclusive way of participating in agriculture. ZBNF involves farming a variety of livestock and crops without using synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, or other agricultural materials. The cost of raising crops is kept as close to zero as possible so that the farmer can generate a profit.

With ZBNF, farms rely on locally available natural resources that can be gathered and used for free. This farming system uses special techniques based on ancient knowledge to minimize the need for irrigation and develop nourishing fertile soils.

ZBNF has been championed by Indian Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, who believes that Indian agriculturalists and farmers need to relearn ancient farming techniques and sharpen and scale them for modern use. He has championed ZBNF as part of India’s ParamparagatKrishiVikas Yojana (PKVY) scheme.

4. Sustainable tourism in Yakutia, Russian Federation

The Sakha Republic (Yakutia) is Russia’slargest territory and home to a wide range of North Asian indigenous peoples who live near the arctic circle. Yakutia has some outstanding natural beauty, with almost 40% of the territory protected in a variety of nature reserves, more than double the UN’s global target of 17%.

Yakutia is harnessing the wealth of its natural beauty and extreme environments to introduce sustainable tourism to the region. Interest in this remote and unusual part of the Earth has been piqued by the success of online content that has documented the lives and culture of the various indigenous peoples of the Sakha Republic, including the popular Kiun B channel on Youtube, which boasts several million followers.

The plans for sustainable tourism in the region involve providing tourists with an immersive experience of the Yakut way of life and traditions at temperatures as low as -90 degrees Fahrenheit (-68 degrees Celsius). Participatory activities and tours are to be offered to nature enthusiasts and explorers, and participants are invited to get involved in the efforts to protect the vast Siberian wilderness for a premium price of $25,000 per person.

5. Sea salt production on the Isle of Wight, U.K

Commercial salt production is a high-energy process that involves salt mining and the forced evaporation of brine under a vacuum (PDV) to produce the typical granular table salt you find in the grocery store.

But sea salt is a far less energy-intensive and more sustainable type of salt, increasing in popularity worldwide. Many countries have a tradition of producing sea salt naturally evaporated by sun and wind in salt pans near coastal waters. Sea salt production has a carbon footprint of a quarter of rock salt and is almost 31 times smaller than PDV salt.

On the Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom, Simon Davis of Wight Salt is reviving traditional sea salt making sampling clean coastal waters and evaporating them slowly to create a mineral-rich and delicious sea salt.

Davis produces his sea salt naturally and sustainably by evaporating the salt in salt basins to produce coarse and crumbly crystals that foodies love.

6. Banana leaf tableware, Tamil Nadu, India

With US states like California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, and New York combatting out-of-control plastic pollution by banning single-use plastics, food vendors and caterers are searching for a suitable biodegradable alternative.

Banana Leaf Preservation Technology is an Indian company that has developed a chemical-free, proprietary method of preserving Banana leaves, which usually start to rot after approximately three days. This remarkable process is being used to produce eco-friendly disposable tableware, a multi-billion dollar global industry heavily dominated by plastics. This 100% sustainable material is chemical and water-resistant and suitable for use in the microwave or freezer.

Banana leaf preservation was developed by Tamil Nadu resident, inventor, and eco-activist Tenith Adithyaa. He worked on his process from a young age, experimenting in a homemade lab. His business provides his banana leaf preservation technology to Indian businesses.

7. The Farmer’s Market Coalition, California, USA

The National Farmers Market Coalition is a nonprofit organization that supports the development and growth of farmer’s markets as community assets that safeguard income for growers and other producers by selling directly to the public.

Farmer’s markets are known for their sustainability. The food sold is locally produced, often using less intensive, organic methods. Across the U.S., customers are flocking to local farmer’s markets to access fresh, healthy food that has been produced with environmental responsibility.

The National Farmers Market Coalition ensures that farmers can earn a good living without becoming dependent on contracts with grocery stores, where they struggle to compete with the huge corporate farms that can produce large volumes of food.

By selling via farmer’s markets, smaller farmers can profit from using sustainable farming practices to produce food that does not require high-energy transit to the consumer.

The local communities that are served by the market access healthy food at competitive prices as the farmer does not have the expense of storing or packaging it for a prolonged period before the sale.

Farmer’s markets also drastically reduce the amount of waste generated by food retail. The markets also provide a great educational opportunity, where customers can learn more about the food they eat and sustainable farming practices.

8. Fairphone, The Netherlands

Mobile phones are a massive contributor to electronic waste, with over 150 million smartphones hitting landfills each year. This is one of the worse ways to dispose of electronics, especially as they can leach toxic compounds that cause land and water pollution.

Throwing old or broken smartphones away also leads to the loss of precious metals and rare earth minerals that have to be continually mined, creating environmental damage.

Dutch mobile phone company Fairphone has sought to address these issues by designing a smartphone that is more sustainable and has a much lower environmental footprint than the mainstream models.   The company, founded in 2013, has been producing a unique modular smartphone that has components that can be easily removed and replaced by the consumer.

By making smartphones that can be repaired and customized by the consumer, the Fairphone prolongs its service life. Damage to a single part of the phone can be easily repaired without discarding the whole phone. Fairphone can reduce the CO₂ emissions associated with its phones by 30% just by increasing the lifespan of its phones by two years.

In addition, Fairphone has established fair trade relationships with miners who mine the minerals and metals used in their electronics, ensuring they are paid a living wage. Customers find it easy to recycle their phones with Fairphone, where all components will be put to good use.

9. The Zero Waste International Alliance (ZWIA), San Diego, California

The Zero Waste movement, led by the Zero Waste International Alliance, based in San Diego, California, has been successful in engaging the public in actionable and impactful consumer choices that can tangibly drive down the massive amounts of waste generated by product packaging.

The movement started in the early 2000s and developed from the Grassroots Recycling Network (GRRN) in California and a passionate desire to reduce the amount of waste that was simply being incinerated worldwide. Zero Waste focuses on five areas of action to drive down waste: 

1. Refusal of packaging
2. Reduction in consumerism
3. Reuse of items to maximize their lifespan
4. Recycling of discarded products
5. Rotting of organic matter into compost

Founders and trustees in the ZWIA include academics and industry experts on waste management and recycling. ZWIA is currently active in many countries around the world. Other champions and advocates include Bea Johnson of Zero Waste Home, who famously reduced her family’s annual trash volume to a single jar.

In many places,  the public face of this sustainability movement is Zero Waste stores. These stores shun the use of product packaging and instead encourage customers to bring and fill their containers from a bulk supply of the product they want. Many Zero Waste stores offer a comprehensive range of items that are sold by weight or volume.

10. Recycled race car tires, Tokyo, Japan

Yokohama Tires is one of the world’s leading tire manufacturers. This Tokyo-based conglomerate is renowned for the quality of its racing tires which are used in championship races in Japan. Yokohama has begun to develop performance tires using recycled tires to improve its sustainability profile.

Yokohama has been working on recycled rubber tires for many years. The company has developed a novel tire using a combination of scrap tires, rice husk silica, and natural oils. They have found that the performance of their racing tires has not been negatively impacted by these materials.

The new tires are due to make their debut in the 2023  Super Formula racing season. If successful, Yokohama has the goal of supplying tires with a minimum of 35% recycled material content.

Yokohama Tire’s sustainability drive is continuing with ongoing projects to develop a synthetic rubber material from biomass. They are also researching a recyclable thermo-reversible rubber.

11. CARIB Brewery bottle recycling, The Caribbean

Bottle recycling used to be routine across the Caribbean, with youngsters earning a few cents for every soda bottle they returned to the store. For many Caribbean people, hunting glass bottles for cash was a fun part of growing up; however, the practice has fallen off in recent years, and glass waste on the islands has increased.

This is a massive problem for CARIB Brewery, the Caribbean’s leading beverage producer, which relies on glass bottles being returned to keep its business financially viable. CARIB produces almost one million bottles of beer daily with exports across the disparate Caribbean islands, complete with logistical challenges.

As the only glass bottle producer in the English-speaking Caribbean, CARIB relies on bottles that are returned in a reusable state (up to 90%) with a proportion that will be crushed and recycled. CARIB is so desperate for returned bottles that it currently offers 30 cents per glass bottle returned and over $2 for its valuable plastic crates.

CARIB commercial director Miguel Marquez insists that the return of bottles is also essential to prevent the island of the Caribbean from being marred by waste, which also impacts tourism in the region. The company has launched a campaign in grocery stores to encourage the return of the bottles.

12. Biodiesel production from waste cooking oil, Vernon, California

Baker Commodities, a California company, has made a commodity of waste cooking oils and fasts, which it converts into high-quality biodiesel. This sustainable business has a dedicated biodiesel processing plant that produces diesel and processes rendered fats for international export.

The company has a fleet of waste fat collection vehicles which collect fats from food processors, hospitality, restaurant, food service businesses, and even the military. By collecting waste oil for biodiesel production, it does not have to be disposed of by businesses and organizations, potentially clogging drains.

Baker Commodities takes the collected yellow grease from vegetable oils, tallow, and lard and cleans and filters them. The resultant fats are refined using a transesterification process that converts the fats to high-grade biodiesel.

The company sells its New Leaf Biofuel to Southern California residents. It can be safely used in diesel vehicles. They also offer a version that is blended with petrodiesel for use in haulage fleets and other commercial vehicles.

13. Coppiced woodlands at Fooder Farm, New Zealand

Coppicing is a once-common way of managing woodlands for a sustainable wood supply. Rather than cutting down an entire tree for lumber. Young trees would be cut back to a stump or the trunk and then allowed to regrow, with periodic wood harvesting from the new growth only.

Communities relied on coppiced wood for manufacturing everyday materials like tools, utensils, charcoal, and firewood. Following the acceleration of industrialization after the world wars, the practice became less widespread, with a greater reliance on fast-growing coniferous trees for wood supply.

In New Zealand, homesteaders David and Rebecca Stuart at Fodder Farm are reviving this sustainable form of forestry. The harvested wood is in demand for various woodland crafts, including activities like green woodworking and roundwood building. The staggered harvesting of timber from the dedicated woodlot ensures the trees stay alive and minimizes disease risk.

14. Recycled textiles by Vivify Textiles, Adelaide, Australia

Textile waste is a significant waste management issue. Ninety-two million tons of clothing hits the landfill each year, the equivalent of a full dumpster truck every second. To tackle this problem, Australian company Vivify Fabrics has taken discarded textiles and transformed them into luxury fabrics used in the world’s leading fashion centers.

This unique, sustainable textile company manufactures high-quality fabrics from recycled fibers harvested from discarded clothing and textiles. This makes the business extremely sustainable as these premium fabrics are reintroduced to the luxury market.

The textile waste is shredded and unraveled into its fibers. Natural textile fibers in the textile waste are sorted by material and color to reduce the need for dying. The fibers can then be cleaned and re-spun for weaving into new fabrics or compressed into filler material for mattresses and upholstery.

Vivify Textiles has won several international awards, including the Second Hightex award from Munich Fabric Start in 2018. The Australian Government has also approved and promoted the company as a promoted export partner.

15. Co Cars Car Hire Exeter, United Kingdom

Exeter is a historic U.K. city known for its ancient cathedral, leading university, and fantastic green spaces. The long-term plan for the city involves developing a sustainable transport system that provides residents with easy access to a variety of shared transport options that reduces the need for individual car ownership and the consequent pollution.

Car hire and car clubs provide a sustainable solution for personal transport in a compact city. Exeter’s Co Cars offers residents access to a fleet of electric and hybrid vehicles and electric bikes at convenient locations across the city. Residents can register with the company and hire a vehicle whenever they want for as little as $7 per day. Members are billed per hour and benefit from access to well-maintained personal transport for as long or as little as they require.

16. Repair Cafes in the Hudson Valley and Catskills, New York

Repair Cafes are community events where people gather to learn how to repair and restore a wide range of broken and neglected items. The Repair Cafe initiative started in the Netherlands and has spread worldwide.

By repairing items rather than discarding them, Repair Cafes not only prevent landfill waste but also reduce the expenditure of resources and energy to produce new items. People become empowered to complete simple repairs themselves, saving time and money.

Repair Cafes at Hudson Valley and Catskills offer repair coaches who can help people fix:

• Clothing
• Mechanical items
• Ornaments
• Wooden items
• Small appliances
• Tools

The team can fix most items they encounter, and even when they fail, people learn that repairing items is a valid option when their fail. The cafes have been running since 2013 when volunteer organizer John Wackman brought them into the area.

17. Sustainable seafood, Alaska

Alaska is world famous for its rich stocks of quality seafood and rich fishing heritage. It is also leading the way in the adoption of sustainable fishing practices. Their holistic approach harnesses science to carefully monitor fish stocks so that the marine ecosystems of Alaska can thrive and stay productive for the fishermen.

Where fishing is undertaken sustainably, it provides an extremely environmentally efficient. Alaskan fishing is carefully regulated to ensure that fishermen maintain environmentally responsible practices. Unlike other U.S. states, sustainable fishing is written into the Alaskan state constitution.

The success of sustainable fishing relies on protecting the marine environment and the people who live and work in these fisheries. Local knowledge and expertise are highly valued as it has been handed down through generations. This, coupled with a science-based precautionary approach, means Alaskan fleets respond sensitively to ecosystem changes.

Plus, when catches are landed, the Alaskan authorities ensure that 100% of the fish is utilized to minimize any waste of this valuable natural resource.

18. Sustainable pencil production in Tokyo, Japan

Kitaboshi is one of Japan’s leading pencil companies and has produced traditional wooden pencils for over a century. In Japan, the company leads its industry in using innovative sustainable practices to minimize waste from its manufacturing processes and derive the maximum utility from the wood used.

The Sugatani family, who own the company, sources the wood for the pencils from abundant basswood species that they manage sustainably. The company is widely known for almost entirely recycling the waste wood and sawdust from pencil manufacturing.

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Kitaboshi’s main circular economy product is a special sawdust modeling clay called Mokunen-san which dries to a hardwood finish and can be cut, drilled, varnished, and even composted. The company also produces unusual paint from wood waste, producing a uniquely textured paint finish that can be sanded or carved.

The Kitaboshi factory is open to tourists and educational visits where they demonstrate their manufacturing and wood waste recycling techniques.

19. Mellowcabs, Stellenbosch, Western Cape, South Africa

Mellowcabs, founded by Neil du Preez, is a South African company that makes and operates a network of lightweight electrical vehicles in urban centers nationwide. These simple, affordable vehicles provide a cost-effective taxi service that offers safe, emission-free transport for its users.

Commuters book their cabs online, via an app, or by phone and can travel within a three-mile radius of the company’s operating area. This micro transport project has been so successful that Mellowcabs is expanding its operation to include a novel van design for courier and last-mile delivery services.

20. E-Waste Jewelry from Paris, France

The jewelry sector is in the midst of a revolution, realizing that up to 7% of the world’s gold is languishing in disused and discarded electronic devices. Smart and savvy independent jewelers have realized that mining more gold is pointless when there is so much to be reclaimed from electronic waste.

French high-end jeweler Courbet uses precious metals extracted from e-waste alongside its signature lab-grown diamonds. This ecological and creative jewelry features the same fine craftsmanship and quality that the French are renowned for.

In conclusion

As you can see, sustainability is a viable and actionable way of living and working. When done well, new industries and markets are created using our existing resources rather than looking for more.

Companies and organizations that have successfully implemented sustainable practices are engaging the public, demonstrating what can be done to manage resources better and protect our environment.

25+ actionable ways to reduce the waste you send to landfill

With horror stories like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed when it comes to managing and reducing our waste. However, there are loads of ways that you can slash the amount of trash you send to landfill, many of which are easy to do, and some will save you money and make your life better at the same time.

1. Embrace curbside recycling

Although recycling is not the all-in-one solution some people pretend it to be – learn about the drawbacks and complexities of recycling – it is an important part of waste management, especially over the short to medium term.

Many towns run curbside recycling programs that make it easy to recycle a range of items, from aluminum cans and plastic bottles to cardboard cartons.

However, you must follow your local municipality’s recycling rules. Be sure to double-check which materials you can recycle curbside and what you need to do to prepare them first.

In most cases, you’ll need to clean or rinse containers and remove tape or stickers from cardboard and other materials. You usually need to separate different types of materials, as each needs to be recycled separately.

Failing to follow the rules and including an item that is either not recyclable or hasn’t been adequately prepared or cleaned can contaminate the entire load, meaning that it’s sent to landfill.

2. Make an effort to recycle other items as well

Just because you can’t recycle certain materials curbside doesn’t mean you can’t recycle them at all.

You can recycle many things, from LED light bulbs and electronics to wine corks and packaging peanuts, with a bit of effort.

Some towns run special collection or drop-off programs to recycle certain items or materials – contact your local sanitation department to find out.

Some big box stores also accept certain materials, sometimes at certain times of the year. For example, The Home Depot, Ace Hardware, and Lowe’s all have Christmas light recycling programs at the start of the year.

You can also find recycling centers that take all kinds of stuff by using an online finder tool like Earth911.

For really tricky materials, you may need to use a mail-in service. For example, TerraCycle takes all kinds of materials, such as cigarette waste, sauce packets, coffee capsules, and laminated paper.

Although many of these programs come at a cost, you can be happy knowing that you’re not passing this cost on to the planet.

3. Look for products made from recycled materials

You can also help to reduce landfill waste by supporting efforts at the other end of the process and buying products made from recycled materials. This means these materials are put to good use rather than being sent to landfill or polluting the environment.

Furthermore, using recycled materials avoids extracting new resources and greatly reduces the energy consumption and greenhouse gasses associated with making the product.

This can range from everything from clothes made from swimwear made from recycled bottles to rugs and building materials made from things like old car tires and reclaimed wood.

4. Get composting

When it comes to disposing of your organic waste, the best method is to compost it. This is a fantastic solution because you can deal with your waste entirely in your home, even living in an apartment.

Food scraps and other organic materials naturally break down in the right environment. However, landfill is not designed for this: organics don’t properly biodegrade in landfill because they don’t have enough oxygen.

Instead, they decompose inorganically, giving off methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

You can compost food scraps and also other organic materials like non-synthetic fabrics and paper, meaning they break down naturally and release negligible amounts of methane at most. All they leave behind is rich compost that you can use to nourish your garden.

5. Donate whatever you can

Donating items instead of throwing them away is a win-win. Not only does it keep them out of landfill, but you also have the opportunity to give something valuable to someone in need.

Clothes and accessories are a prime example: US households send 11 million tons of clothing to landfill every year. Many of these pieces are still in wearable condition, so instead of tossing out your unwanted clothes, give them to your local charity store, like a Goodwill.

There are plenty of other things you can donate, such as:

• Give old books to your local school
• Donate old furniture and homewares to a homeless shelter of domestic violence organization
• Take working electronics, toys, and household items to charity stores

In all cases, you should only donate things that are in good, usable, and working condition. If you have anything that fits this description, giving it away should be your first option!

6. Avoid single-use containers

Modern society has become all too reliant on single-use containers, from shopping bags to takeout food containers and cutlery. Think about how many containers you use in a year, then multiply that by the 330 million people in the United States, and nearly eight billion people worldwide.

This represents literal mountains of plastic and styrofoam that gets sent to landfill and sits there for hundreds of years. For example, a plastic bottle takes around 450 years to break down, and a styrofoam food container takes approximately 50 years, though neither of these materials actually biodegrade.

Even paper and cardboard containers are often lined with non-biodegradable materials, such as plastic-lined take-out coffee cups, or plastic-coated noodle boxes.

Here are some alternatives to single-use containers:

• Invest in a reusable, stainless steel water bottle instead of buying plastic ones
• Take a reusable keep cup to your coffee shop
• Buy calico or fabrics bags for your grocery shopping
• Use Tupperware instead of disposable food containers
• Buy reusable silicon cutlery and take it with you on trips or for lunch breaks

If you can’t completely avoid food containers, make sure to recycle them – learn how here.

7. Look for sustainable packaging

Like disposable containers, single-use packaging is highly prevalent these days and significantly contributes to landfill waste.

As an eco-conscious consumer, you need to be vigilant about two types of packaging:

1. Packaging that is inherent to the product itself, such as shampoo bottles or toothpaste tubes.
2. Packaging that is used to ship the product to your door.

If you buy online, look for sellers who use recycled and recyclable packaging for shipping. It’s also essential to look for zero-waste products that come encased in reusable, recycled, and recyclable containers or are inherently zero-waste.

Check out our guides to zero-waste deodorant, shampoo, and toilet paper.

8. Skip the straw

This one is pretty well publicized, but it’s worth repeating. Plastic straws make up around 4% of all plastic waste sent to landfill.

Although this is not a huge percentage by weight or volume, these little non-biodegradable tubes have a disproportionately high impact on the environment. Plastic straws are small and lightweight, so are more likely to be washed out of landfill into waterways, where they can pollute the local environment or make their way to the ocean.

There, they can be devastating to marine ecosystems: their sharp edges can injure sea turtles and other animals, or they can break down into microplastics that are then ingested.

Instead, invest in your own reusable straw made of silicone, metal or bamboo, or skip the straw entirely. After all, do we really need a straw to drink juice or soda?

9. Opt for whole foods

Another way to reduce the amount of waste you produce is by reviewing your shopping habits. Buying whole foods like fruit, vegetables, and grains is an easy way to avoid packaging, as these items are available loose rather than wrapped in plastic.

Making these changes is not only better for the environment but also for your health, as whole foods are generally a much healthier choice!

10. Cook at home more

Cooking at home is another way to reduce the waste you produce, as well as being generally better for your health, not to mention more budget-friendly. By cooking yourself, you can easily avoid disposable takeout containers, which are usually unrecyclable or at least challenging to recycle.

Like many of the steps on this list, you don’t need to make an absolute change. You can make a difference by just cooking more meals at home, and still get takeaway sometimes!

11. Save and store your leftovers

Food makes up a significant proportion of US waste: around 22% of all household waste is food scraps.

Not only does this contribute to landfill, it is also one of the major contributors to climate change, partly due to methane release as it decomposes anaerobically in landfill. Growing food can also have various impacts, from soil pollution to deforestation, which is only heightened by wasted food.

Before you toss your leftovers in the trash, consider how to reuse them. Save them for an easy repeat meal the next day, or make them into a new dish the next day.

You can also freeze all kinds of foods to avoid having to throw them away: cooked meat can be kept in the freezer for up to four months, vegetables for eight months, and bread for three to six months.

Having a few meals in the freezer is always a lifesaver after a long day when you don’t feel like cooking, or if you have an unexpected visitor!

12. Be strict with meal planning

Another way to avoid wasting food is by effectively planning your meals. Before you go to the grocery store, make a meal plan for the week.

Detail what you’ll cook and make for each meal daily, and use this to create a comprehensive shopping list. This will help ensure you buy only what you need and don’t have to throw unused food away because it has expired.

13. Go for loose-leaf tea

You may not realize it, but the humble tea bag is a major waste culprit. Most tea bags are lined with polypropylene, a non-biodegradable plastic. Worse still, the organic materials inside the bag can’t decompose naturally and just add to landfill volume.

By switching to loose-leaf tea, your tea-drinking habit will be much more eco-friendly.

You just need to buy a tea ball or a cute vintage-style teapot with a built-in strainer and you can say goodbye to teabags forever!

If you’re not prepared to give up tea bags for whatever reason, be sure to cut open the bag and put the leaves in your compost, before throwing the rest in the trash. Or better still, look for bioplastic teabags.

14. Invest in rechargeable batteries

As a society, we’re getting much better at recognizing and avoiding disposable items like plastic bags and single-use water bottles. However, some of the disposable products we regularly use are less obvious.

Batteries are a prime example of this – we’re accustomed to buying batteries for our flashlights or wristwatches, and then throwing them away once they’ve lost their charge.

Not only does this contribute to landfill waste, but batteries contain a range of heavy metals and toxins, including nickel, lead, and cadmium. These can leach into the earth from landfill sites, contaminating the soil and potentially polluting waterways or the underground water table.

An excellent alternative is to buy rechargeable batteries: all you need to do is plug into a wall socket using an adapter, and it will replenish their charge.

While it’s true that these kinds of batteries are significantly more expensive than their disposable counterparts, you’ll soon recoup your investment in what you save on constantly buying replacements. Not to mention, this benefits the environment greatly!

Another eco-friendly option is to go for solar-powered products that run on the power of the sun. You’ll find everything from toys and rope lights to garden umbrellas, with a built-in solar panel or a small, portable panel that can be connected.

15. Use energy-efficient light bulbs

Light bulbs are another example of a common disposable household item that all too often ends up in landfill.

While you can recycle most kinds of light bulbs, this can be tricky, as they’re often classified as hazardous waste. You will need to dispose of them eventually; energy-efficient light bulbs last many times longer than traditional ones, significantly reducing waste over the long term.

Opt for energy-efficient LED light bulbs that deliver up to 50,000 hours of illumination for a fraction of the energy used by incandescent light bulbs.

16. Buy in bulk

Sticking to reusable bags when you go to the grocery store cuts back on single-use plastic bags, but what about all the bags, bottles, and other packaging you pick up at the supermarket?

If you go through your trash, you’ll probably find it full of product containers and their associated packaging. While some of these items can be recycled, for others, you have no option but to send them to landfill.

You can avoid this issue entirely by visiting your local bulk store. These shops sell everything from rice and pasta to spices in bulk – you need to take your own glass jars or similar reusable containers, and they’ll fill them for you!

17. Make your own cleaning products

Most cleaning products come in plastic containers. While you may be able to buy them in bulk or with refills, an even better solution is to make your own.

By making your own cleaners, you skip the packaging entirely, and can use old bottles or containers to store them. It may sound like a tall order, but it’s actually pretty simple to make a variety of cleaning agents from easy-to-source ingredients.

Furthermore, you can avoid the harsh chemicals found in most conventional cleaning products by using natural alternatives, and so protect not only the planet, but your and your family’s health too.

For example, baking soda will gently scrub away residue without damaging surfaces, while lemon juice is a natural bleach and vinegar is a powerful all-purpose cleaner.

Learn how to make your own, all-natural cleaners here.

18. Craft your own personal care products

In the same way, you can also craft your own personal care products and avoid buying them from the store in their associated containers and packaging. Again, this is easier to do than you may think: it’s relatively simple to make your own soap, shampoo, face cream, and even bubble bath.

You can find loads of tutorials online – here are a few to get you started:

• Try your hand at this super simple, all-natural bubble bath
• Make this all-natural shampoo from essential oils
• Learn the basics of soap making
• Make a natural face mask from avocado

19. Buy second hand

You can help reduce landfill waste by producing less trash of your own and helping to remove waste from the cycle. For example, buying second-hand products gives those items new life and stops other people’s waste from going to landfill.

There are plenty of good-quality pieces of clothing, accessories, furniture, homewares, and more that people want to get rid of even though they’re still perfectly usable and in good condition. They may be moving interstate, their tastes have changed, or it doesn’t serve their needs anymore – either way, their trash could be your treasure.

Hit up your local second-hand and thrift shops, browse flea markets, or jump online and check out what’s available on eBay and Craigslist. You’ll be surprised what you can find!

20. Buy less

Another way you can reduce landfill waste by modifying your consumption habits is to buy less entirely. When we discuss waste management, we usually focus on the end of the waste cycle: reuse and recycle.

However, it’s also important to consider the third R – reduce – which occurs at the beginning of this process. If we can reduce the amount of stuff that enters that cycle in the first place, we’ll have less that we need to reuse, recycle, or otherwise manage at the end of the day.

Furthermore, much of what we buy is fairly unnecessary. After all, do you really need four pairs of jeans and three summer dresses when one of each would do?

And how many of the appliances and gadgets cluttering up your kitchen do you really use?

By shifting how we view not only waste but also consumption and our lifestyles overall, we could greatly reduce the amount of stuff we buy, in turn decreasing the demand on manufacturers to produce it in the first place and slashing the amount of waste in the world, as well as reducing the drain on the earth’s precious resources.

21. Rediscover

Another approach that can help you greatly reduce the amount of stuff you buy is to take stock of what you already have. If you rediscover some of the things you have lying around at home, you may be surprised about how few things you need to buy.

If you dig through your closet, you’ll probably find all kinds of items of clothing that you’ve barely worn and forgotten about, and could start to wear again rather than buying something new. Equally, look at the back of your pantry to find long-life food, spices, and sauces that you should eat before the expiry, rather than heading to the grocery store.

22. Repair damaged or broken items rather than throwing them away

Another unfortunate part of modern society is that we tend to see everything as disposable. If something breaks, gets damaged, or is just a bit worse for wear, our impulse is usually to throw it away and buy a new one.

This is one area we should copy what our grandparents used to do as a matter of course, and try to repair the old item, only throwing it away as a last resort.

Here are some ways to save pieces that have seen better days:

• Darn holes in socks or patch a tear in your jeans or a jacket
• Take your old shoes to a cobbler to have them resoled or the heels replaced
• See if there’s a repair shop in your area that can fix your broken electronics
• Repair broken ceramics like plates and bowls at home

23. Invest in high-quality items

Although it is possible to patch up and repair lots of things, the adage “they don’t make things like they used to” is all too often accurate these days. Indeed, many modern products aren’t built to last, either impossible to repair or not worth the effort.

That’s why buying high-quality items that will last you much longer before splitting, tearing, or breaking down is essential.

Instead of fast fashion, opt for a well-made piece of clothing from a local brand. Rather than cheap electronics made by a manufacturer you’ve never heard of, invest in a quality product from a reputable company.

Going for quality comes with a higher initial investment, but you’ll save money over the long term, as you won’t need to keep buying replacements. Most importantly, you’ll rarely, if ever, need to dispose of these kinds of items, as they’ll last you a lifetime.

24. Reuse and upcycle

Reusing things can be a powerful way to divert your waste and avoid it going to landfill. Reusing could be simple, such as reusing old shopping bags or using plastic bottles for storage.

However, you can also get creative, transforming your trash into something beautiful rather than sending it to landfill. Everything from pens and fabric scraps to old shoes and wood pieces can be used as raw material for crafting.

If you have kids, this is not only a fun activity, but it also helps them learn about the importance of waste management, and protecting the environment more generally.

Here are a few fabulous upcycling ideas:

• Make a unique dining table from old wood pieces
• DIY a funky flower vase from old pens or markers
• Turn old shoes into cool planters
• Create coasters from old wine corks
• Upcycle old furniture with chalk paint

25. Spread the word

As with any environmental issue, you can only do so much alone. If you want to help reduce landfill waste on a large scale, you must educate others.

By spreading the word about the problems associated with sending trash to landfill and what people can do instead, you can encourage others to be more eco-friendly in how they manage their trash.

Talk to your neighbors and friends, post something in your family Whatsapp group, or share an article (like this one!) or video on social media.

The power of this comes from the ripple effect: say you convince just three people to take action and reduce the waste they send to landfill. Then each of these people educates three others, passing the word on to three more, and so on.

Before long, this could reach hundreds or even thousands of people.

26. Join campaigns

If you really want to have an impact on a large scale and do something about the world’s waste crisis, you can join forces with others by joining a campaign. There are plenty of organizations, from local groups to multi-national non-profits, working on various facets of this issue.

Just a few examples include:

• Earth Day
• One Stop Waste
• Refilltheworld.com
• Oceana USA

There are plenty of ways to get involved, from lobbying your local representatives and signing petitions to participating in beach or highway clean-ups and volunteering to support the organization.

Final thoughts

The amount of waste we collectively, both as a country and globally, send to landfill is outrageous. We can no longer continue to dump mountains of organics, plastic, and other non-biodegradables and forget about them.

Not only do landfills have a range of negative impacts on the environment – from soil contamination to contributing to climate change – but we’re simply running out of room.

Thankfully, there are plenty of ways to reduce landfill waste, from recycling, reusing, and upcycling our trash, to not producing it in the first place, whether buying zero-waste and refillable products or simply buying less.

You can make a difference by changing your habits or have an even bigger impact by educating others or joining campaigns.

For more tips on Green Living, take a look at our posts on sustainable gifts, vertical gardens, and this reading list for eco-conscious readers.

There are many rainwater harvesting benefits; collecting rainwater for household use can make houses and communities more sustainable and reduce pressure on the municipal water supply. This article explains rainwater harvesting and shares 15 key benefits of this water collection technique.

What is rainwater harvesting?

Rainwater harvesting is simply collecting rainwater for use at home or in industry. People harvest rainwater using anything from a simple container, to a sophisticated installation that channels water into dedicated cisterns.

Rather than being absorbed into the ground or becoming surface run-off, the rainwater is directed using sloped surfaces, channels, and gravity into the storage location. For most properties, the roof of the building provides a large surface area for intercepting and channeling rain.

Collecting rainwater can occur at scale, with massive installations providing a large surface area for collections. Regions with flooded forests, sunken basins, or reservoirs can capture large volumes of water from heavy seasonal rains for community use.

Rainwater harvesting also includes systems to collect dew, fog, and mists using nets and condensing devices. Collected water can be stored for use in tanks, cisterns, pits, boreholes, wells, and reservoirs.

Rainwater harvesting has been a feature of almost every major civilization

Rainwater collection is an ancient practice that goes back millennia. There is archaeological evidence of this practice taking place in the Neolithic Age, and rainwater cisterns have been used by the Ancient Egyptians, Minoans, Babylonians, Greeks, Romans, and Ancient Timbuktu.

How is harvested rainwater used?

Collected rainwater can be used as a water source for any daily activities that require water. Depending on location and the available infrastructure or plumbing, we can use rainwater for:

• Drinking water
• Laundry
• Personal care
• Household cleaning
• Toilet flushing
• Irrigation
• Gardening
• Replenishment of reservoirs and groundwater supplies

15 rainwater harvesting benefits

Rainwater harvesting is a great way of taking advantage of a freely available natural resource. Even the simplest rainwater collection systems can have many benefits for households. Here are 15 need-to-know advantages of collecting rainwater:

1. Rainwater collection is free (wherever it is allowed)

You may have to pay for water that comes in a bottle or out of a tap, but when it comes to rainwater, this essential natural resource is 100% free anywhere on the earth. Some regions do have water rights regulations (explained in the FAQs), but generally, if it drops out of the sky, it’s yours!

2. Rainwater collection is extremely simple 

The principles of collecting rainwater are simple and can be replicated anywhere in the world. A basic rainwater system exploits gravity and the flow of water to channel water that flows off a sloped surface into a storage vessel.

Simple rainwater collection systems worldwide use roofs and other slanted surfaces and even an ‘upturned umbrella’ design to collect rainfall efficiently for later use. A collection system does not have to be sophisticated or expensive to do a great job of harvesting rain:

3. Rainwater harvesting systems can collect an impressive amount of water

The amount of rainwater you can harvest shouldn’t be underestimated. For every inch of rain you receive, you can collect as much as 550 gallons of rainwater for every 1000 square feet of rainwater collection surface area you have available.

If you live in a temperate region with moderate rainfall or have a monsoon or harmattan season the amount of collected rainwater you can be substantial and boosts your household’s water resilience.

4. Save on mains water for domestic use

Collecting rainwater reduces reliance on a mains water supply for meeting all of your household’s water needs. The average American family can use as much as 300 gallons of water daily, with 70% of this water used indoors.

Collected rainwater provides a water source that offsets this volume. Stored rainwater can be immediately used for outdoor uses like watering plants, and car washing and may be plumbed in to supplement the domestic water supply for laundry and flushing the toilet.

5. Rainwater collection can be used anywhere in the world

Precipitation can be harvested for use in the most extreme environments on earth, and for many populations is an important method for accessing water. 

In desert environments, sub-surface desert water harvesters can be used to collect precipitation and surface run-off water while preventing stored water from evaporating. Micro catchment systems like these have been used in semi-arid and arid regions to provide water for wildlife and can even be used to feed long-term underground water storage.

In extremely cold environments, where households do not have a mains water supply, snow is routinely collected in containers and heated for household use.

6. You can save money by harvesting rainwater

Accessing water from a municipal water supply costs money, with many countries instituting water meters for the measurement and billing of water consumption. In the United States, the EPA reports that a family can expect to pay at least $1000 annually to water companies for the water they use.

The monitoring of water consumption has proved to be a great incentive for reducing water use. Rainwater collection can help by instantly providing families with an unmetered water supply that can be used to reduce billed water consumption.  An efficient rainwater harvesting system can save homeowners as much as 40 to 50% of their water bill!

7. Harvesting rainwater saves energy

If rainwater harvesting was routine, there would be a massive decrease in demand for municipal water supplies. This would also lead to a reduction in the energy consumption required to draw, treat and deliver mains water to homes. This more renewable water source also requires zero energy for collection and storage furthering its environmental benefits.

8. Rainwater harvesting can reduce groundwater demand

Many countries around the world are finding that they can ease the demand for precious groundwater supplies by using rainwater collection systems. Iraq is a relatively arid country that has implemented rainwater conservation projects to safeguard its groundwater which forms about 14% of the country’s water supply.

With the support of UN Aid, local environmental scientists are installing rainwater collection systems using ponds and dams to protect the deep aquifers that take a long time to be replenished.

9. Rainwater is a valuable supplemental water supply during drought

If you’ve experienced your water company instituting a hosepipe ban during long hot summers, you will understand the benefit of having an independent supply of water on your property. Water collected during periods of wet weather can prove invaluable in times of drought, where it can be freely used to water a garden.

Many gardeners maintain a rainwater collection system for this reason. The stored water can be used to maintain irrigation systems, and in agricultural settings, ensure that livestock and plants can be sustained in hot, dry periods.

10. Reduces the erosion caused by stormwater run-off

Stormwater is a massive environmental problem causing up to $2.2 billion of damage in urban areas alone. Uncontrolled and undirected surface run-off from storms is a major cause of flooding, property damage, soil and land erosion, and harm to aquatic life.

Proactive integration of rainwater harvesting in the design of buildings could massively impact this global problem. By routinely including robust rainwater collection systems in urban architecture, towns, and cities could prevent the damage associated with stormwater and recover valuable water resources for residents.

11. Rainwater can be used as a source of drinking water

Though rainwater is not potable in its natural state, it can be collected and treated to provide households with drinking water. This is an ideal solution for remote properties that may not have access to a mains water supply and want to maximize their natural water sources. On-site water filtration and treatment systems for rain, well, or spring water add significantly to the cost of a rainwater harvesting system.

12. Supports water self-sufficiency

A reliable clean water supply is essential for consistent off-grid living. Many properties that are not mains connected may have a spring or well available, but they may not be able to fully meet household demand. By adding rainwater harvesting, households can establish a truly independent water supply.

People can do this by maintaining a store of rainwater that can sustain a household until it rains again. A rainwater collection system that can collect enough water to do this requires professional design and installation to ensure that adequate surface area is available to catch rainfall.

13. Rainwater is soft!

A popular benefit of rainwater is that it does not contain the hardness that can affect mains water. Water hardness is because of the presence of magnesium and calcium salts that are present in the groundwater drawn for municipal water supplies. Hard water buildups cause limescale, with damage to appliances like washing machines and dishwashers.

Rainwater has no hardness and is ideal for laundry and other uses where water softness is valuable. In fact, many people in hardwater areas actively collect rainwater because of its softness and use it for car washing, laundry rinses, and watering plants.

14. Rainwater systems can be sized to meet your household needs

Rainwater collection systems are infinitely scalable and can be sufficiently large to meet some or all of a household’s water requirements. In fact, the world’s largest rainwater harvesting system in Karnataka, India collects as much as 4 billion liters of rainwater from a network of collection systems on school rooftops in the region.

15. Installation of a rainwater harvesting system can increase the value of your home!

A high-specification rainwater collection system is a positive modification to your property that could increase its value, especially as the awareness of eco-friendly homes has increased. A prospective buyer would have the benefits of an independent water supply and reduced water bills which are tangible benefits in a similar way to a solar panel or wood-burning stove.

Frequently asked questions about rainwater harvesting

What are some of the disadvantages of rainwater harvesting?

When it comes to harvesting rainwater for use, it’s not all benefits. Here are some of the key disadvantages of collecting rainwater:

• Rainfall can be unreliable, meaning that a home rainwater harvesting system may not be able to provide your household with water consistently.
• The capital costs of installing a modern rainwater collection system can be high.
• Rainwater storage may take up productive space on your property.
• Rainwater harvesting systems require regular maintenance to ensure that they do not become blocked, unsanitary, or infested.
• Roof materials and conditions may be a source of contamination of rainwater run-off.

Is rainwater collection legal in the United States?

In the United States, the collection of rainwater is regulated as a natural resource and in some states, the collection of rainwater on your property is frankly illegal. This is because certain states consider that the collection of rainwater deprives neighbors of having access to the volume of water you collected via groundwater supplies. States that restrict rainwater collection include:

• Utah
• Colorado
• Idaho

All states are beginning to recognize the importance and benefits of rainwater collection, so these prohibitions may be relaxed in the near future.

How much does a home rainwater collection system cost in the US?

The costs of a home rainwater collection system will vary according to the level of sophistication and any post-collection water treatment. Prices can range between $120 for appropriate gutting and a pair of large barrels to over $21,000 for a system with cisterns, filtration and plumbing so that it functions like a well or spring home water supply.

Can you drink rainwater?

According to the Centers for Disease Control, untreated rainwater shouldn’t be consumed. This is because rainwater often contains atmospheric pollutants and contamination that have been washed into the collected water. Microorganisms that are present in untreated rainwater include amoebas, bacteria, and parasites.

Untreated rainwater can be used straight from the barrel for laundry, flushing toilets, and watering plants. Water for drinking, cooking and personal care should be treated before use.

How do you treat collected rainwater for drinking?

Stored rainwater will need to go through several treatment steps to become potable. Water treatment is one of the main costs that can make rainwater harvesting expensive. This is because it is multistage, to ensure that all contaminants are removed from the water. The main stages of rainwater treatment are: 

1. Filtration: Removal of large and solid contaminants by passing the water through mesh and steel filtering layers. Vortex filtration also helps to remove sediments in the rainwater and oxygenate it. 

2. UV treatment: Ultra-violet light is used to kill pathogens and microorganisms that may be present in the water. This stage can only take place once the water has been thoroughly filtered from particulates that could shade microbes from the UV rays.

3. Carbon filtration: Carbon filtration is an additional treatment step that can make the water more palatable and ensure that any remaining substances are adsorbed.

4. Storage of water in a cool dark environment that prevents microbial growth or infestation.

In conclusion

Rainwater harvesting can prove to be an effective method of conserving water. Collecting rainwater can help your household become more self-sufficient and save on mains water costs. In the US, there is increasing recognition of the benefits of rainwater harvesting, meaning that it is legal in most states.