The practice of environmental sustainability helps to ensure that the needs of today's population are met without jeopardising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. As individuals, we can make small adjustments to the way we run our households to avoid depletion or degradation of natural resources and maintain healthy ecosystems. A sustainable home also assists us with saving money and making us more resourceful with what we have.
On this page, we've listed valuable resources, links and tips on how to conserve energy and water, reduce waste and make smart choices when building or renovating your house.
Select products without packaging or try to choose packaging that you can recycle. In Tasman, you can only put plastics 1, 2 and 5 in your recycling.
If the product you like is coming in different packaging, we suggest to call the manufacturer and suggest using other types of packaging. Customer pressure is the best driver to change a business.
Read the recycling guidelines.
Start composting and find out about worm farms and bokashi.
Watch the Nelson City Council video on composting.
Dispose of household chemicals correctly.
Get rid of your e-waste correctly.
Donate clothes and other items to charity. Have a look at the Tasman op-shop map. (pdf, 275 KB)
Make sure your home is insulated well, as it can make a big difference to your power bill. Read more about insulation.
Warmer Kiwi Home is a programme that supports our community with insulation and heating. Check your eligibility.
If you are heating your home with a wood burner, make sure it does not pollute the air. Read more.
Read more about adding solar power to your household.
It is a good idea to design your garden in a way that attracts native birds. The most important thing to consider is a composition of native trees. Find out how to attract more native birds to your garden. It is not difficult to make your garden attractive to lizards.
Are you dreaming of building a sustainable home with environmentally friendly materials and a low energy consumption? It is not that difficult. Eco Design Advisor and Energywise offer extensive guides starting with how to position your house so it captures more sun light, to insulation and ventilation.
Green Star Design and HomeStar are New Zealand green rating and labelling systems for sustainable homes. Check out NZ Green Building Council for more information.
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