An East Suffolk councillor is calling on residents to make New Year’s resolutions to cut their carbon footprint in 2021 and help tackle the climate emergency.

Cllr James Mallinder, cabinet member for the Environment, is asking people in East Suffolk to consider taking up practical ideas in their New Year’s resolutions this year to help fight climate change and biodiversity loss and he has suggested some simple changes we can all make in 2021 to help improve our impact on the environment:

Reduce plastic use

Plastic bags aren’t easily recycled and often end up interfering with our water sources, trees, and animal habitats. If you haven’t already done so, buying reusable shopping bags is a low-cost, one-time purchase that could have a big impact on cutting down on your plastic consumption.

Recycle right and waste less

To ensure your recycling isn’t rejected, make sure you put the right waste in the right bin. If you’re unsure about what can and cannot be recycled through your blue bin, go to www.eastsuffolk.gov.uk/assets/Waste/Recycling-Bin-Guide.pdf 

Beyond recycling through your kerbside bin, why not consider what can be re-purposed or used by someone else before putting it in the bin? Perhaps it can be composted or used as an arts projects or maybe a charity shop will be able to resell an item to help raise money for good causes.

Think local

This has been a difficult year for many of our local shops and by shopping locally you can not only help your local economy but also reduce your carbon footprint. There are other benefits too of course, as shopping at local shops and farmers markets means you get the freshest produce whilst supporting your local economy.

Support nature

Hedgehogs need our help more than ever and there are some simple steps you can take to help them this winter – and beyond. Leave areas of your garden ‘wild’ with piles of leaf litter and logs as these are attractive nests as well as a home for the invertebrates that hedgehogs like to eat. You can also help them by ensuring that they can pass through your garden freely by creating a ‘hedgehog highway’. You can find more information on the Hedgehog Street website.