Your eco-footprint is a measure of how many resources you use and tells you whether you tread heavily or lightly upon the planet. Simple acts that reduce your energy and water use, not only benefit the environment, but also helps you save money!
We have provided some useful tips to help you live more sustainably in and around your home.
Taps and Showerheads
Choosing taps and showerheads that use less water is a simple way you can reduce your water use. Taps fitted with aerators reduce flows by up to half, and provide 'softer' water. AAA-rated showerheads use less than half the water of a standard showerhead - over 10 years this saves up to 250,000 litres of water!
Appliances
Appliances such as dishwashers and washing machines are also rated on their water efficiency. AAA-rated dishwashers have more effective spray systems and make better use of the water used during wash and rinse cycles. Many washing machines use more than 40 litres per kilogram of clothes, while AAA-rated models use less than 22 litres per kilogram. Front loading machines generally use less water than top loaders of the same size.
Toilets
AAA-rated dual flush toilets use only 3 litres of water for a half flush, compared to 12 litres for a single flush toilet.
For more information on saving water, try the Waterwise website.
Australians are now the highest per capita emitters of greenhouse gases. There are simple changes that can make your home and lifestyle more environmentally friendly – and in most cases, it will save you money too!
Hot water accounts for nearly one third of the energy use of a typical WA home! Save energy and money by choosing a solar or energy efficient hot water system, fitting water efficient taps, showerheads and appliances, and taking shorter showers.
Heating and cooling costs are more than one quarter of a typical household power bill. If you are building, buying or renovating, think about insulation for floors, ceilings and walls. Effective house design and orientation can make your home naturally comfortable and energy efficient. Energy Saver: a light coloured roof will reflect more of the summer sun.
Choose efficient white-goods with top star ratings. Try not to buy appliances that are larger or more powerful than you need, or leave them on all the time (standby mode still uses power). Washers, dryers and dishwashers are most efficient when used for full loads. Energy Saver Tip: good air circulation around the coils at the back of the fridge can save up to 150 kg of greenhouse gas each year!
Recycle, and buy recycled goods wherever possible. Recycling 1 tonne of plastic saves 992 litres of petrol compared with producing it from virgin materials.
Everything we eat, buy, wear and use has come from the natural environment, and will eventually need to be disposed of. Before you put something in your shopping troll thinking about what the product is made of, how it’s packaged, where it comes from and where it will go once you’ve finished with it.
Here are some tips:
- Choosing products that are made from recycled or recyclable materials conserves energy and natural resources, and reduces waste going to landfill.
- Buying items such as books, furniture and clothing second-hand benefits the environment by reducing use of raw materials as well as the amount of waste going to landfill.
- Packaging is a major component of household waste - by avoiding products with excessive packaging, consumers can encourage manufacturers to use only essential packaging.
- Buying in bulk can also reduce the amount of unnecessary packaging - smaller cans, bottles and boxes use more packaging materials per kilogram of product.
- Preparing meals and snacks at home instead of buying takeaways and convenience foods can make a huge difference to the amount of packaging waste from each person.
Buying Recycled
There are real benefits to the environment when we buy products made from recycled materials. For example, each tonne of paper recycled saves almost 13 trees and 4 cubic metres of landfill. It also saves 2.5 barrels of oil, 4,100 kWh of electricity, and 31,780 litres of water during the manufacturing process!
However, in order for recycling to be viable for manufacturers, there must be a market for the recycled products. When people buy the products made from recycled materials, this is called ‘closing the loop’. When consumers choose products which contain recycled materials, or which can be recycled, manufacturers and retailers are encouraged to think about waste and recycling.
Plastic Bags
Every year Australians use over six billion plastic bags, which can take up to 1000 years to break down. Apart from contributing to landfill, these bags often end up littering the bush, rivers and seas and killing marine animals.
The best solution to the plastic problem is using alternatives to plastic shopping bags such as cloth or string bags, baskets and crates. If you do use plastic shopping bags, reuse them or recycle them.
Mobile Phones
Mobile phones can cause serious problems if disposed of to landfill, as many contain toxic substances such as cadmium.
Old mobile phones can be reused or recycled. Working phones can be reused and broken phones can be recycled to recover the materials – every 50,000 mobile phones recycled yields approximately 1.5 kg of gold!
Most retail mobile phone shops have drop-off facilities to collect old phones. For details of your nearest facility and other information, visit www.phonerecycling.com.au.
Green purchasing is about considering the environmental impact of materials and services when making purchasing decisions. The principles of green purchasing are based on those of the waste hierarchy:
REFUSE – Excess packaging & materials
REDUCE – The amount of materials you use
REUSE – Repair and sell things you no longer use, consider buying second hand
RECYCLE – Everything you cant refuse, reduce and reuse!!
You can choose to buy products that have been developed with the environment in mind. Consumer preferences can be a strong force for change, as it sends a message to manufacturers about considering environmental issues when developing their products.
Here are some ideas to reduce your impact on the environment when purchasing items:
- Avoid buying products with unnecessary packaging
- Buy products in packaging that has recycled content
- Buy products in concentrated form eg. Washing powder, detergent
- Choose products that have refill available
- Avoid disposable products such as napkins, plates and cutlery
- Reuse plastic bags, or return to the supermarkets for recycling
- Buy fresh food rather than packaged or processed
- Buy products that are locally made
- Organic foods are produced without pesticides, fertilisers, preservatives and other toxic chemicals and are therefore better for you and the environment