Renovating a home is a great opportunity to make a home more functional, improve comfort, and revitalize drab spaces. It is also a chance to keep a remarkable amount of material out of the ground.
The EPA estimates the United States generated 600 million tons of construction and demolition debris in 2018 — more than twice the volume of municipal solid waste that year — and demolition accounts for more than 90 percent of it. About 145 million tons of that went straight to landfills.
A green approach to contracting and choosing materials helps trim that waste stream and makes your home more water- and energy-efficient. One thing has changed since this article first ran: the federal tax credit that used to subsidize efficiency upgrades expired at the end of 2025, so the money math on some of these decisions now runs through state and utility programs instead. More on that below.
Apply these green tips during the planning phase of your home renovation project, whether you do the work yourself or hire a contractor.
Repurpose When Possible
Begin by exploring what existing materials and fixtures can be repurposed, donated, and recycled before sending them to a landfill.
Cabinetry, lighting fixtures, flooring, and plumbing fixtures can sometimes be refinished and repaired for a new look. Consider replacing inefficient appliances and plumbing fixtures to save money and resources in the long run instead of replacing cabinets and counters.
Donate Unneeded Materials
You can donate items that are still in good condition but don’t suit the needs of your project. The Habitat for Humanity ReStore network accepts a variety of appliances, building materials, furniture, and more, and its donation guide explains what individual stores will and won’t take.
Replace Inefficient Toilets & Appliances
Toilets are the single largest use of water inside most homes. A WaterSense labeled toilet uses no more than 1.28 gallons per flush, 20 percent below the federal standard of 1.6 gpf, and the EPA estimates the average family saves close to 13,000 gallons and more than $170 a year by replacing old, inefficient models. Older toilets can use as much as six gallons per flush.
One detail worth knowing if you are shopping for a dual-flush model: the EPA changed the specification in 2025. The full-flush mode itself must now come in at 1.28 gpf or less, rather than averaging a big flush against two small ones. Some dual-flush toilets that carried the label a few years ago no longer qualify.
The same efficiency logic applies to washers and dishwashers. When deciding whether to replace an appliance, compare its water and energy consumption to new models before you commit. A recently manufactured dishwasher, for example, may use half the energy of one installed 20 years ago.
Find Salvaged Materials
Home renovation projects that use salvaged materials can have unique character and charm. When shopping for new materials, explore where you might use reclaimed items instead. Look on Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, your local Buy Nothing group, the ReStore, or a salvage yard. Active demolition sites are worth a visit, too; contractors will often part with trim, brick, or fixtures rather than pay to haul them away.
Use Natural Finishes & Products
Many paints, varnishes, stains, and flooring materials release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that degrade indoor air quality, and concentrations indoors routinely run higher than outdoors. Whenever possible, select finishes labeled low- or zero-VOC and look for products certified to a Green Seal standard. Ventilate well during and after application regardless of the label.
Look for Certified Green Products
Use Forest Stewardship Council-certified wood products to confirm that lumber, plywood, and flooring came from responsibly managed forests. Look for ENERGY STAR appliances, which meet more stringent energy-efficiency requirements than the federal minimum.
ENERGY STAR itself had an eventful year. The administration proposed eliminating the program in 2025; Congress instead appropriated $33 million for it in the fiscal 2026 spending package. In March 2026, EPA and the Department of Energy signed an agreement making DOE the lead agency that manages the program. The label remains a useful way to assess products even if where its specifications and staffing will be located is still unsettled.
For a broader view of what makes a building material defensible, the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED v5 rating system, which was ratified in April 2025 and open for certification since that November, organizes its materials credits around embodied carbon and ingredient disclosure. Homeowners can’t realistically chase LEED points on a bathroom remodel, but two of the product labels it recognizes are easy to check on a spec sheet: Cradle to Cradle Certified and Declare, which functions as a nutrition label for building products.
Reduce Construction Waste & Debris
Using salvaged materials for your renovation project typically generates less packaging waste. It also feeds a recovery stream that already works better than most people assume: of the 600 million tons of construction and demolition debris generated in 2018, roughly 455 million tons were directed to a next use rather than disposal, mostly as aggregate material.
The materials that often are landfilled are the ones worth planning around. Wood, gypsum drywall, asphalt shingles, and brick and clay tile all end up in landfills at high rates, so ordering carefully and finding a home for the leftovers makes more difference than it does with concrete or metal.
When purchasing new materials, look for items with as little non-recyclable packaging as possible. Consider donating surplus materials or finding new ways to make good use of them when your renovation is complete, and check Earth911’s recycling search for local options before anything goes in a dumpster.
Make Energy-Saving Improvements
Is your home properly insulated and air sealed? Are there rooms with drafts or uneven temperatures? A renovation creates an excellent opening for home performance work, because the walls are already coming apart. An infrared camera or a professional home energy audit is a good way to learn where your home is losing energy before you close anything back up.
Replace any soiled or ineffective insulation, seal gaps and cracks, and consider replacing leaky or single-pane windows. Whenever possible, choose insulation products that contain natural materials, do not contain harmful flame retardants, and do not off-gas VOCs.
You’ll need to budget for this work differently than you would have in 2024. The 25C Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit, which returned up to $3,200 a year on insulation, windows, heat pumps, and energy audits, was terminated for property placed in service after December 31, 2025, under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The 25D residential clean energy credit ended on the same date. What survived is the Inflation Reduction Act’s Home Energy Rebates that provide up to $8,000 for whole-home efficiency retrofits and up to $14,000 for electrification. The program is administered state by state and generally limited to households with incomes below 150 percent of local median income.
These rebates, which can be exhausted during the year, are first-come, first-served, so availability is uneven. California’s single-family electrification rebates were fully reserved by February 2026 and moved to a waitlist; Colorado is running staged regional rounds; Oregon launched in spring 2026; Texas and Tennessee had not opened to applicants as of mid-2026.
Start with your research with the state energy office, confirm whether pre-approval is required before you buy equipment, and stack utility rebates on top. Several states disqualify projects that were purchased before the paperwork went in.
Conserve Water
Do your sinks have water-saving fittings, and are your showerheads efficient? A standard showerhead uses 2.5 gallons per minute; a WaterSense labeled model uses no more than 2.0 gpm and must pass spray force and coverage testing to earn the label. The EPA calculates the average family can save 2,700 gallons of water and more than 330 kilowatt-hours of water heating energy per year with the swap.
A renovation is also the right moment to chase down leaks. Household leaks waste roughly 180 gallons a week, and a running toilet flapper or a dripping supply line is far easier to find and fix while a plumber is already on site.
These steps, and many more, can turn your home improvement project into an environmental improvement outcome.
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on October 30, 2019, and was most recently updated in July 2026.
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