Nobody can be unaware of the impact of climate change on our planet. It is now affecting every community across the globe with many industries suffering too. Recycling plastic is no longer enough to slow climate change. How we do everything needs to be scrutinised and changes made – and that means when we complete home improvement projects in the home, we need to be taking active steps to reduce our impact on the environment.

Choosing a ‘green’ kitchen

Eco-friendly home improvements mean considering every aspect of the job in hand from where items are sourced to how they are delivered to materials sued.

A green or eco-friendly kitchen does all of this. Schuller kitchens have long had climate action at the forefront of their business and so for customers who take their commitment to the environment seriously, they have many options.

Just how do you get maximum kitchen style with minimal waste?

Any home improvement will produce all kinds of waste but it can also produce opportunities for you to reduce your impact on the environment in many ways;

Consider how waste from the build will be dealt with

A big factor in any home improvement is how waste is dealt with. From cardboard to bricks to old plaster, you want to be confident that the waste carrier you choose will recycle and repurpose as much of the waste as possible.

• Asbestos – this will need a specialist carrier and builder to deal with to ensure it is disposed of safely.
• Bricks and breeze blocks – old bricks and blocks once cleaned can often take on a new lease of life. There are many projects that use reclaimed materials, one of which is bound to be in your area.
• Metal – today, we tend to use plastic pipes and connectors but if that means you are replacing metal pipes, you could not only recycle them but enjoy some extra cash in the process. Scrap merchants will pick up metal for free or you can take it to the local scrapyard, weight it and have the yard buy it from you.

Materials

Reclaimed wood is not uncommon in home improvements and interiors but what is also becoming more common is for items to be made from waste material. Wood chippings and shavings, for example, can be compressed to make large sheets of ‘wood’ which can then be cut into shape and laminated to make cabinet doors and cupboard carcasses. By repurposing this material, a lot less is sent to landfill, something that we should all be aiming to do.

Transport

And finally, we also need to consider the raw materials that we use to transport materials to and from site. Manufacturers and suppliers are increasingly using efficient transport such as electric vehicles that have less impact on the environment.

All this without compromising on style (or upping the cost!)

In the past, when products have been labelled as eco-friendly or green, they haven’t always enjoyed the best quality nor available at a reasonable price. But now, suppliers like Schuller Kitchens are making green products mainstream without adding a zero onto the price so that it is possible to get maximum kitchen style with minimum waste.