Although the following
suggestions relate to the UK, the general principles behind them can
be applied anywhere in developed countries.
Many quite simple
actions can result in considerable savings. Penney Poyzer, in her
book 'No Waste Like Home', suggests that the average family in the
UK wastes £430 worth of food every year. Add to this another
£200 worth of wasted energy and it is easy to see how scandalous
this situation is in a world where most people cannot earn enough
to meet even their most basic needs of food, sanitation, water and
shelter. £430 would provide a very adequate house for a poor
person living in India and £200 would enable thousands of trees
to be planted in Africa.
This amounts to
a staggering £9 bil that Britons waste on the unnecessary use
of energy and good food thrown away every year.
Sadly this waste
increases economic growth, but who pays the price!!
These are not
the only causes of waste in the home. If all the possible savings
are added up for the average family, these could amount to as much
as £4,000 each year - £60 bil for the UK as a whole.
On average people throw away 7 times their own body weight each year.
All of this waste
does of course add to global warming. In 50 years time, as a result
of rising temperatures, UN scientists estimate that there will be
10,000 more cases of food poisoning, 5,000 more deaths from skin cancer
and 2,000 more cataract operations each year in Britain. Note that
this is in addition to the fears that many scientists predict about
the effects of global warming which include the possibility of an
ice age developing in northern Europe as a result of the Gulf Stream
being effectively 'cut-off' - an outcome of melting ice in the Arctic)
When we look at
some basic statistics, the role we can play in reducing waste and
helping the environment can seem obvious. All we need is the will
to make the necessary response. Each year in Britain:
- 17 bil plastic
carrier bags are given away by supermarkets (290 bags for every person)
- 400,000 tonnes
of disposable nappies were used (8 mil nappies are thrown away every
day).
- the average
family thows away 208 Kg of paper
- only 17% of
waste is recycled and waste is increasing at the rate of 3% each year
- £5 bil
worth of energy is wasted (Note that within the next 20 years Britain
is expected to be importing 80% of gas)
- £1.2 bil
is spent on running fridges and freezers
- the health impact
of traffic pollution amounts to £11 bil (85 % of households
in rural areas have at least one car - 70% in urban areas)
The cost of managing
household waste is £1.6 bil and this is expected to rise to
£3.2 bil by 2020. Of the 7,000 incinerators, 12 burn municipal
waste.
20% of what comes through the letterbox is never opened and 60% is
never read.
What can be
done?
FIOH
believes that this waste is scandalous because it is totally unecessary.
If you agree, we hope you will do something to address the problem
and use the money you have saved to ease the problems caused by
injustice and exploitation around the world.
Some measures
can be taken easily with very little effort and no initial financial
outlay. Others require a substantial outlay (e.g. solar installations)
with quite a long payback period. Most require a minimal financial
outlay with a short payback period (e.g. energy saving light bulbs
and loft and wall insulation).
Also, grants towards the costs of some energy-saving measures are
available.
Saving electricity
- Replace
all light bulbs with energy efficient bulbs
- Switch off computers and television when not in use instead of leaving
on
stand-by
- Put an insulation jacket around the hot water tank and lagging around
hot water pipes
- Install 250 mm thickness of loft insulation between ceiling joists
- Install cavity wall insulation
- Lay fitted carpets over floor boards
- Replace single glazed windows with double glazing. For windows with
wooden frames a relatively cheap way of doing this is to use double
glazing units rather than go to the cost of replacing the glass and
the frames.
- Eliminate draughts around window frames and doors
- Turn the thermostat down 1deg C. This could save 10% of the cost
of running the central heating
- Remove furniture away from radiators and place aluminium foil behind
the radiators
- Use a gravity shower connection connected to the bath taps instead
of a power shower. Limit your shower to 5 minutes
- Use heavy curtains with a thermal lining
- Use a 'green' electricity supplier who sources electricity from
renewable energy
- Use energy efficient appliances (A to G rating) - 'A' rating is
the most efficient. Look out for the blue and orange logo.
- Use a 'Sava Plug' to connect fridges and freezers (350 watt max)
to siocket outlets. Make sure there is proper seal around the doors
and defrost when ice builds up.
- Using a 40 deg C wash rather than 60 deg C will save a third of
the amount of electricity used by a washing machine
- Put lids on cooking pans
Reducing water
use
If you
feel that you can reduce water use as suggested below then contact
your water supplier and ask for a meter to be installed. You can first
check with the supplier if this will cost you less. Savings may not
be possible for large families.
- Run the water
from shed roofs into water butts and use for watering
the
garden
- Get a plumber to stop all drips from taps and overflows. If you
are on a meter you may be surprised at the increase in your water
bill if you don't
- Install a plastic 'Hippo' in the toilet cistern. 35% of water is
used flushing the toilet and this simple action will reduce the amount
of water used in each flush by about a third.
- Take a shower instead of a bath but limit it to 5 mins
- Wait until you have a large load before washing clothes. This will
also save electricity.
Reducing general
waste
- Use
re-usable terry nappies instead of disposable ones
- Put disposable nappies, tampons, sanitary towels, cotton buds, condoms
and cigarettes in the bin, not the toilet, otherwise these may cause
blockages in the sewereage system. Blockages at the sewage works may
cause sewage to be diverted to a river
- recycle all tins, bottles, paper and clothes
- compost most uncooked kitchen and garden waste but dont include
cat litter, dog faeces, disposable nappies, diseased plants, meat.
fish and cooked food. Try and get a balance of organic material and
fibrous material like straw, wood shavings, dried leaves and shredded
twigs
- Buy vegetables
loose and not pre- packed. If you can, avoid
shopping at supermarkets
- Use reclaimed timber where possible. This might be superior in some
ways for outdoor uses and will usually be cheaper than the equivalent
bought at a timber merchants or DIY store
Transport
- If
you possibly can, do not have a car or large motorcycle of your own
for transport, but instead walk or use a bicycle and public transport
- If you do own a car then keep it regularly serviced. Keep tyres
properly inflated at the correct pressure (under-inflated tyres acn
increase fuel use by about 8%). Driving at 50 mph instead of 70 mph
will use 25% less fuel
- take your holidays close to home and avoid long distance travel
by air
Green
electricity marketplace
