Your everyday decisions really can make a difference
In public toilets, is it better to use a paper towel or an electric hand dryer?
Should I do the dirty dishes by hand or use a dishwasher?
Should I do my laundry in a front-loader or top-loading washing machine?
What should I eat for dinner tonight?
Is it correct that flicking fluoro lights on and off uses more energy?
When it comes to grocery shopping, should I do a big shop each month or fortnight, or should I shop every few days?
Are the new hybrid cars that much better than small, fuel-efficient, conventional cars?
What’s best: curtains or venetian blinds?
When it comes to baby, what’s best: disposable nappies or cloth nappies?
I’m thirsty. Bottled water or tap?
Solar hot water and solar panels: what’s the difference?
Rechargeable versus disposable batteries?
Scraps. Should I compost them or throw them straight in the bin?
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In public toilets, is it better to use a paper towel or an electric hand dryer?
Go for the hot air. The energy needed to heat and blow air at your
hands is far less than the energy needed to make and transport paper
towels and haul waste away. One US study found that nine fully grown
trees are cut down to supply an average fast-food restaurant with paper
towels over a year; the tossed towels then create over 450kg of
landfill waste. The hand dryer is also more hygienic. Doctors at the
University of Ottawa claim the hot air gets into more crevices in the
skin, killing off germs quicker.
Should I do the dirty dishes by hand or use a dishwasher?
This one’s not so crystal clear, since it all depends on how you
hand wash and on the model of dishwasher. According to Tanya Ha, the
author of Greeniology, old-style washing, using one sink for washing
and one for rinsing, consumes 15-20 litres of water. “However, the
amount increases considerably if you rinse dishes under running tap
water instead of using a filled sink or bucket.”
Research by the British government’s Market Transformation Programme
last year found that dishwashers get items cleaner and use about 75%
less water. The key is having a modern model. Dishwashers built today
use around 95% less energy than those built 30 years ago, says Ha.
Older models can use up to 90 litres of water a load; modern two-drawer
dishwashers use as little as nine litres. To be even greener, stick to
full loads and use the no-heat or air-dry option.
Should I do my laundry in a front-loader or top-loading washing machine?
Front-loaders win, hands down. Top-loaders have faster cycles but
they use much more water, energy and detergent. When you are buying a
new machine, look for the labels listing its energy and water ratings.
Also choose a machine size that suits your household. Even if you’re
not planning on buying a new machine, you can still make your current
washer more eco-friendly. Clean the filter, use the minimum amount of
detergent, stick to cold water and stick with full loads.
What should I eat for dinner tonight?
Out of everything you do, what you choose to eat has the biggest
impact on the environment, says Rebecca Blackburn, author of Green is
Good: Smart Ways to Live Well and Help the Planet. “Farming uses more
resources than any other industry: two-thirds of Australia’s land and
more than two-thirds of our water. It also produces one fifth of our
greenhouse gas emissions.” In fact, one third of the average person’s
carbon footprint is due to their intake of animal-based food, which is
far more than the impact of driving a car or the energy used in our
homes.
So should we turn vegetarian? Blackburn says you’ll be surprised at
how much you can help the environment simply by reducing your red-meat
intake even slightly. In fact, eating 3kg less red meat each year is
equivalent to reducing household water use by half! Blackburn’s handy
tip: go for Meatless Monday.
Is it correct that flicking fluoro lights on and off uses more energy?
Actually no. New data suggests frequent switching doesn’t shorten
the life span of bulbs or waste energy. Compact fluorescent bulbs are
basically energy-efficient versions of the strip lighting we used to
put in laundries and bathrooms. Manufacturer Osram is now selling a
bulb that it claims can be switched 500,000 times – equivalent to 91
times per day over its 15-year life.
When it comes to grocery shopping, should I do a big shop each month or fortnight, or should I shop every few days?
Australians admit to throwing out a whopping $5.3 billion worth of
food a year. Not surprisingly, the majority of the wasted food is
fresh: $2.9 billion worth. “It’s not just money that’s being wasted,
it’s the resources that went into making the food,” says Blackburn. “Do
an audit of the fridge before you go shopping and figure out what’s
left behind, what went off and why you didn’t eat the food.” So by all
means do a big monthly shop of durables and non-perishables, but buy
your fresh fruit and vegetables every couple of days so they don’t sit
in the crisper unused.
Are the new hybrid cars that much better than small, fuel-efficient, conventional cars?
Hybrid cars are not the be-all and end-all. “Choose the smallest car
that you can manage and choose the most fuel-efficient car in that
range,” says Blackburn. New vehicles are rated by website www.greenvehicleguide.gov.au based
on greenhouse and air pollution emissions. “You can make a big
difference without buying a hybrid,” says Blackburn. “If money’s an
issue, you’d be far better off spending the extra money on a rainwater
tank, solar hot water, insulation and energy-efficient appliances.”
What’s best: curtains or venetian blinds?
When it comes to keeping your house insulated, curtains win hands
down. Venetian blinds don’t reduce heat transfer at all; a
close-fitting, lined, floor-length curtain with a pelmet will reduce
heat loss in winter by one third. To keep the radiant heat out in
summer, install outdoor shutters, awnings or miniature louvres. Window
films provide some protection from summer sun but are less effective
than external blinds, and they also don’t protect against heat loss in
winter.
When it comes to baby, what’s best: disposable nappies or cloth nappies?
Let’s call this a draw. Several independent studies – taking into
account all the environmental factors such as raw material and energy
usage, emissions of air and water pollution, and even waste management
– conclude that both have roughly the same environmental effect. But
the dollar cost is another equation.
I’m thirsty. Bottled water or tap?
Australians drink 150 million litres of bottled water each
year. And Clean Up Australia reckons just 35% of all plastic bottles
are recycled – the rest end up as landfill.When it comes to tap water,
there are no transportation costs or carbon emissions. Buy your own
water bottle. Instead of spending $2 per bottle, factor in just 2c and
decide now if the taste is OK.
Solar hot water and solar panels: what’s the difference?
A lot of people get confused about this. One is taking the sun’s
energy and heating up hot water. The other is taking the sun’s energy
and producing electricity.
If you can imagine going camping with a big black barrel filled with
water sitting in the sun, when you had a shower from the barrel, the
water would be warm, says Blackburn. That’s essentially the same as the
process in a solar hot water system. Solar electricity is more
complicated. It’s still quite expensive so the federal government has
introduced a rebate of up to $8000 if you install solar panels, which
practically halves the cost. Says Blackburn, “It’s not cost effective
to install solar panels as a way to reduce your greenhouse gas
emissions. For much less money, you can install energy-efficient
appliances, lights and insulation and reduce your emissions by about
half.”
Rechargeable versus disposable batteries?
Rechargeables. No question. They work out better on the hip pocket,
too. “You buy them once for about $4, versus a normal alkaline battery
for $1, but get to use them about 1000 times.” And for those who think
rechargeable batteries are too fiddly to use and take too long to
charge: remember, you’re already using them in your mobile phone and
laptop. “If you were using throwaway batteries in your mobile, it would
cost more than your phone bill.”
Scraps. Should I compost them or throw them straight in the bin?
Up to 50% of domestic waste is food scraps and garden waste that
could be composted. Make it easy for yourself: keep a little plastic
bin on the kitchen bench, or use a stainless-steel cooking pot and line
it with newspaper so it cleans more easily.
You can compost the strangest things: vegetable oil, tea bags,
coffee grounds, vacuum dust, eggshells, hair clippings or hair removed
from a brush, ash from wood fires, shredded paper and cardboard, even
dried flower arrangements. If you live in an apartment, consider a
Bokashi bin. It sits under your sink and the fermentation process
doesn’t produce smells. When full, visit the communal garden or enrich
a friend’s garden. Available at biome.com.au.
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