Living healthy, comfortable lives requires resources, not least food, clothes, tech, furniture and fuel. The resources we choose to buy and how we dispose of them can contribute to both the climate and nature emergencies by creating greenhouse gases and pollution, and destroying habitats to extract or produce materials. Rother has above-average recycling and composting rates, though we must not focus only on how we dispose of resources, but consider also how and from what they are made, their distribution and delivery, and their use and maintenance over their lifetime.

The impact of the resources we buy and the services we use, such as for entertainment and social activities, can be reduced by buying local products from local businesses, not buying more than what is needed and prioritising re-use and repair over disposal and buying new.

Explore this section for information on reducing resource consumption and transitioning to a circular economy.