Easy ways to go green in your home environment

If you want to reduce your carbon footprint, a great place to start is by using bamboo flooring whenever you decide to replace any carpets, tiles or wood floors in your home.

And that's just one way you can "go green" when making home improvements and create a healthier and more eco-friendly personal environment, says Gerhard Kotzé, CEO of the RealNet property group.

"Bamboo is a very sustainable resource, because it reaches maturity in just four to six years and because cutting its stalks promotes new growth, so that it is not destroyed during harvesting like trees are.

"It is also a really versatile material, with stalks, strips and fibres now being put to good use in all sorts of applications besides flooring, including furniture, countertops, blinds, window shutters, bowls, plates, cutlery and even organic clothing, so there is bound to be a use for it in most homes."

However, he says, it is important to check that you are using bamboo that has been ethically harvested without damaging any rainforest - and that any laminates, sealants and glues used to install your floor or make any other bamboo products you use are also made from environmentally friendly substances.

"This is important because going green at home also means trying to avoid using any chemicals that give off volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and could negatively affect the air quality in your home and possibly even damage your health.

"Consequently, while repainting and refinishing are some of the most cost- effective ways to give your home a new look, it is vital to source eco-friendly paint, primers, varnishes, sealants, crack fillers and epoxies. These can be found at most good hardware stores these days."

And if you are planning a bigger home improvement such as an alteration or addition, says Kotzé, you should endeavour to use green building materials as much as possible - and to work with contractors who will support your efforts to do so.

These materials could include recycled plastic made into bricks or wood lookalikes, laminated timber instead of steel or concrete, precast concrete, natural wool insulation or insulation sheets made from recycled fabrics, naturally occurring stone and recycled glass, bricks and steel - and there are many ways and places to source these online.

"Alternatively, you may just be planning to reorganise and redecorate, and there are many eco-friendly ways to do that too - even on a restricted budget. For example, consider re-purposing things you already own. There are thousands of ideas on the internet for creating beautiful new pieces of furniture and other items out of everyday objects in your home, and you'll not only be cutting down the use of new materials but reducing the amount of unwanted goods going into the landfill.

"In addition, you should be really particular when buying anything new like curtains, a couch or bed to make sure they are made, as far as possible, from sustainable natural fibres like linen or hemp, recycled wood or bamboo, and plant-based foam."

And finally, he says, you can be more green by being a good giver. "If you replace furnishings, appliances or decorative items, donate your old pieces to a welfare organisation. Some will even take broken things that they can repair and sell for much needed income. In this way you can again reduce waste in landfills and help others at the same time."