How you can help
Waste initiatives
- The council works in partnership with Furniture Matters, a charity which collects bulk furniture items and reuses via a shop. If items are not suitable for sale they are stripped back to components and recycled. Check out Furniture Matters or book a bulky item collection using our Bulky Matters service.
- Recycle all that you possibly can at home by checking out our What Goes in Your Bin pages, which also lets you know where you can recycle items that we do not collect.
- Reduce your carbon footprint by getting us to collect your garden waste by subscribing for a garden waste collection.
- Have you considered composting? It's a great way to make the most of food waste and can boost the soil in your garden's health by adding nutrients — cutting down on the need for fertilisers and improving water retention. Check out Get Composting or if you prefer community composting get in touch with Food Futures who have community composting coming up as part of their Closing Loops programme
- Wasting food feeds climate change and each year UK households throw away 4.5 million tonnes of food that could have been eaten! There’s loads you can do to cut the amount you waste this until weekly food waste collections begin in 2026. Check out all the tips from Love Food Hate Waste - Community at lovefoodhatewaste.com/fwaw.
Caring for the local environment/Supporting biodiversity
- Whether you want to get your hands in the earth and plant trees, raise awareness about trees in your local community, or simply be the eyes, ears and voice for the trees on your street, then you have what it takes to be a volunteer Tree Warden. Find out how to become a Tree Warden.
- Organising a community cleanup is a great way to show that you and your group care about your local environment. It will also encourage other local residents to take pride in their neighbourhoods.
- See how you can join in and help monitor the health of our pollinators UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme (PoMS)
- Residents of the Lancaster district who are concerned about pavement weeds are being asked not to spray weed killer due to the potential harmful effects it can have on the environment.
Improving energy efficiency
As winter beckons and the temperature starts to drop, we naturally turn to heating our homes. From putting the heating on or using the log burner, to driving more, many of our daily activities result in emissions that pollute the environment. But just making a few small changes can help to reduce local air pollution.
The air quality in the district is improving on the whole, but in the winter months there is a rise in the common air pollutant PM2.5 — mainly due to the domestic burning of fires and wood burners used to heat the home. As with your heating, where turning the temperature down can make a difference to climate change, just tweaking the length of time you have your log burner on while using good quality dried wood can help.
Those who use woodburning stoves/solid fuels are being urged to consider the damaging effects these can have on human health and the environment before lighting up.
- You can check out the council's webpage with Energy Efficiency Advice as a starting point if you are interested in how to reduce your energy bills
- Check out the Little Book of Warm for tips on how to save energy and money, stay healthy, and improve the environment
- Consider switching household energy to renewable sources
- Contact your energy provider to request a smart meter. Most providers now offer apps that can help you monitor your energy usage so that you make savings that also will reduce your bills
- Insulate our homes
- Replace lights with the most efficient bulbs (e.g. LEDs)
- Replace old boilers with energy efficient alternatives
Travel
Motor cars are one of the most intensive sources of personal emissions. We recognise that for most of us, a car is vital for our daily lives. However, perhaps there are some journeys where we could consider alternatives, such as carpooling, travelling by foot or bicycle, or using public transport.
- Are you thinking of making the switch to an electric car, check out the council's scheme www.hiyacar.co.uk/lancaster.
Purchases
- Buy local and seasonal
- You can reduce your carbon footprint by reducing the amount of brand new clothes that you buy. With the rise of second-hand clothes apps, you don't have to leave your home to find what you are looking for, but popping into a charity shop or vintage store is best for the environment as no postage is required, which creates energy savings.
Consultations
Keep informed of consultations relating to sustainability and climate change by signing up for email updates.
