How To Move House While Minimizing Your Carbon Footprint

Do you try to live a life with the smallest possible carbon footprint? This can be difficult to achieve in some circumstances, such as when need to get your moving truck to your new home. How can your move to your new place be as environmentally friendly as possible?

Do Your Homework

There might be a bit of research involved in finding movers who meet your prerequisites, but it's not going to be an impossible task. Many companies (including moving companies) are proud of their green credentials and make an effort to promote them. You might not find a company that plants a tree to offset the carbon generated by your move, but you can still find a moving company that cares about the environment. But how exactly do they show that they care?

The Truck

Most of the trucks you see driving along the street aren't electric, but electric trucks are becoming more common. When choosing a moving company, ask about their fleet. They might not have a fully electric vehicle, but their fleet could include a hybrid-electric truck or even one powered by biodiesel. Since transportation is the industry that produces the second-highest amount of pollution, you should make an effort to find a moving company that can transport your possessions in the greenest possible way.  

The Packing Materials

Moving can generate a significant amount of waste, even though many of the materials can be recycled. Recycling requires existing material to be reprocessed so it can be made into something else, and while this is far more eco-friendly than throwing these materials away, the recycling process itself still generates greenhouse gasses. There are some ways to avoid this:

• Ask if the moving company can provide reusable packing containers. These might be wooden or plastic and are designed for ongoing use, instead of a single use. There will probably be an additional fee for renting these containers, but it minimizes the amount of waste your move will create.
• Avoid packing materials designed to protect fragile items. Styrofoam packing peanuts can be recycled, but they're unnecessary. Double up with your packing, and use clothing, bedding, and towels to wrap fragile items before placing them inside the reusable containers.

Sure, you'll need to do a bit of research, but you should be able to find a moving company that cares about the environment as much as you do. For more information about hiring movers, contact a local moving company.