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Individual Actions

What can you do to help combat climate change?

Some useful tips are provided below to help us practise low-carbon living and reduce greenhouse gas emissions:

Clothing

Choose energy efficient washing machine.
Run washing machines or dishwashers with a full load.
Choose a washing machine that meets your household's needs.
Hang-dry washed clothes in an outdoor area, whenever possible.
Line dry clothes, dry with cold air, or remove clothes promptly from the dryer to keep wrinkles to a minimum.
Wash clothes in cold water.

Food

Prepare a shopping list before buying so as to avoid purchasing more than needed.
Buy family-sized product with less packaging if possible.
Allow hot/warm food to cool down to room temperature before putting it in the refrigerator.
Avoid setting the refrigerator temperature unnecessarily low.
Leave enough space between refrigerators and the walls or cabinets so air can circulate around the condenser coils. Trapped heat increases energy consumption.
Bring your own container for drinks and food.
Cut down on take-away food which usually uses non-recyclable materials.
Use durable tableware instead of disposable ones such as foam container, plastic cutlery, paper cup and wooden chopsticks.
Buy drinks contained in plastic or glass bottles which can be recycled.
Avoid buying tetra pack drinks which do not have recyclable outlets locally cannot be recycled.
Buy fresh local food which consumes less energy and hence less pollution.
Bring the items purchased earlier to the front (first-in-first-out (FIFO) system).
Consume food close to expiry date first.
Store food in accordance with the instructions on the packaging.
Reuse food trimmings / surplus portions for second dish recipe.
Separate food waste to facilitate recycling.
Eat what you can consume comfortably by ordering the right portion and number of dishes.
Donate surplus festive food or gift packs to the needy.

Living

Purchase energy-efficient electrical appliances (with energy labels).
Use energy efficient light bulbs (such as compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs)).
Set your air-conditioners at 24-26°C.
Turn off electrical appliances when they are not in use.
Avoid leaving electrical appliances on standby mode.
Install a low-flow shower-head and take a quick shower.
Turn off the lights in any room which are not using.
Use fans instead of room coolers as far as possible.
Clean the filters of room coolers regularly.
Keep the windows and doors closed when the room cooler is turned on and use curtains or blinds to shade against sunlight.
Avoid putting the refrigerator near a heat source - an oven, the dishwasher or direct sunlight from a window.
Bring your own bags to reduce consumption of plastic shopping bags.
Adopt simple packaging and minimise gift wrapping to avoid wastage of resources.
Choose more durable products. Think twice before shopping to avoid purchasing unnecessary items and cause wastage.
Donate unwanted gifts to the needy through charitable organisations.
Separate all recyclable materials, such as metals, plastics, waste paper and other recyclables from waste stream and put them in recycling bins to facilitate recycling.