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    Friday, 22 August 2008   |  12ºC – Light Rain   |  Telephone: 02 9777 1000

Sustainable Suggestions

These suggestions can help you make changes that matter. By doing some (preferably all!) off these things you can reduce your impact on the planet and help keep Earth healthy.

Don't forget to join a Sustainability Street!

Cleaning Energy Fuel In The Garden
In The Office Recycling Water

Cleaning
  • Instead of using harsh oven cleaners, steam clean your oven clean by putting water in baking dishes and put your oven on medium. This will soften the gunk and you can scrape it off with a spatula and then can clean it with bicarbonate of soda and vinegar.
  • A bucket of hot water with half a cup of vinegar can be used for general household cleaning. Add a cap of tea tree or eucalyptus oil to improve the anti fungal properties.
  • Use sunshine where possible to kill bacteria.
  • Clean kitchen surfaces with a vinegar spray. If you can allow the vinegar to dry on the surface it has an improved anti-bacterial impact.
  • Clean chopping boards with soap and water then wipe or spray with vinegar and allow to dry.
  • Wash all vegetables and fruit to remove traces of pesticides - especially non-organic purchases by putting a little vinegar in water and soaking for a few minutes.
  • Add one cup of vinegar to half a bucket of very hot water to clean glass. If very dirty, use hot soapy water before the vinegar rinse.
  • Eucalyptus oil or spray can be used to remove biro, chewing gum, grass, grease, gum, glue, lipstick and nicotine. Place absorbent paper under the fabric and dab or spray eucalyptus. Work towards the centre of the stain, then wash as normal.
  • Mop wooden floors with water with ½ cup of vinegar added. In summer, add citronella oil to reduce flies and mosquitoes.
  • Insects are an essential part of our ecosystem. To keep the out of your home deter them rather than killing. Dried Bay leaves will deter cockroaches and eucalyptus oil will discourage ants and other insects.

  • White vinegar can be used to scrub stainless steel, clear drains, remove tea stains from mugs and remove permanent marker pen from skin. To get limescale off your showerhead, remove it and soak it in vinegar overnight.
Energy
  • Install a programmable thermostat to automatically lower your heat or air conditioning at night and raise it again in the morning and save up to $100 on you energy bill.
  • Choose energy efficient appliances when making new purchases.  Look for the energy star label on new appliances.
  • Wrap your water hot water heater in an insulation blanket to save more than 450 kilos of carbon dioxide each year.
  • Save 250 kilos of carbon dioxide per year by setting your hot water heater thermostat lower than 50 degrees Celsius.
  • Save both water and energy by reducing the amount of hot water you use by installing a low flow showerhead, taking shorter showers and washing your cloths in cold water.
  • Use a clothesline instead of a dryer to dry your cloths you can save more than 300 kilos of carbon dioxide when you are dry your clothes for 6 months.
  • Turn off the television, DVD player, stereo and computer when not in use to save thousands of kilos of carbon dioxide each year.
  • Unplug hairdryers, cell phones, chargers and televisions from the wall when not in use.  Standby power accounts for five per cent of domestic energy and 18 million tone of carbon into the atmosphere each year.
  • Clean or replace the filters in your air conditioner to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide used. Cleaning a dirty air filter can save 158 kilos of carbon dioxide a year.
  • Insulate your home and save 25 per cent on your heating bill and 907 kilos of carbon dioxide a year.
  • Put a jumper on or use a blanket instead using a heater.
  • Cover pots and pans on the stove.  It takes ¼ pf the time and uses ¼ of the energy.
  • Use a draft stopper, curtains, pelmets on windows and other forms of insulation to keep the heat in.
  • Switch to energy generated by clean, renewable sources such as wind and solar.
  • Buy fresh foods instead of frozen which use ten times more energy to produce.  Better still buy direct from local organic food markets.
  • Get an Energy Australia energy audit to find where your home is poorly insulated or energy inefficient. You can save up to 30 per cent on your energy bill and 450 kilos of carbon dioxide a year.
  • Switch off your air-conditioning when you are out for the day.
  • Buy compact fluorescent light bulbs. They last longer and use less energy.
  • Clean the back of your fridge; dust on the coils increases energy consumption.
Fuel
  • Reduce the load by removing unnecessary items from your car when you don’t need them, such as golf clubs.
  • Remove additional parts of your car such as roof racks or bull-bars and close windows to reduce aerodynamic drag and fuel consumption by up to 20 per cent.
  • Leave the car at home and walk when taking small trips. This will not only reduce your fuel consumption and emissions but benefit your health.
  • Plan ahead and complete a number of errands in one trip rather than taking several trips, and save both time and fuel. Avoid short vehicle trips and peak-hour traffic whenever possible.
  • Drive smoothly.  Comparative tests in the same vehicle using "aggressive" compared with "smooth" drivers showed differences in fuel consumption of up to 30 per cent  so if other vehicles cut in ahead of you, don't worry - you'll only be a few car lengths behind at the end of your journey.
  • Start a carpool with your co-workers or classmates.  Sharing a ride with someone just 2 days a week will reduce your carbon dioxide emissions by 327 kilos a year.
  • Regular car maintenance will improve fuel efficiency and reduces emissions.  Properly inflated tires can also improve petrol usage by more than three per cent.
  • Buy locally grown and produced foods to save fuel and keep money in Australia.

  • Think about whether riding a bike could get you there. Good for your fitness and much easier to park!
  • Drive a little slower - driving at 110km/h uses 25% more petrol than 90km/h.
  • Inflate your car tyres to the highest pressure recommended by the manufacturer and make sure they are properly aligned. Looking after your tyres reduces fuel consumption, extends the life of your tyre, and improves handling.
In The Garden
  • Plant a tree to reduce carbon dioxide and save energy.  A single tree will absorb one tonne of carbon dioxide over its lifetime while its shade will reduce your air conditioning bill by up to 15 per cent.
  • Plant Australian natives as they require less water.
  • Use mulch on your garden and prevent up to 70 per cent of evaporation.
  • Create a community vegetable patch.
  • Buy locally made pots and other garden products and save energy waste on road, rail and shipping.

  • Compost your garden and kitchen waste, or consider a worm farm. You won't have to buy fertiliser anymore.
In The Office
  • Email instead of using paper.
  • Print on both sides of the page (most newer printers do this, go into print properties and select “Flip on the long edge”).
  • Use the back of single-sided paper as a jotting pad.
  • Recycle all used paper.
  • Consider placing reports/plans/policies on CD ROMs for distribution rather than printing or email.
  • Ensure kitchen items such as drink bottles, aluminium cans, food cans are recycled.
  • Don’t forget to turn off desk and meeting room lights when not in use. 
  • For short work trips consider walking or for meetings near a station, catch a train.
  • Take a calico bag shopping at lunch time.
  • Don’t leave taps running in kitchens and bathrooms.
Recycling
  • Make sure you are recycling everything you can.  Check out the A to Z of recycling here.
  • Get a worm garden.
  • You can save 1000 kilos of carbon dioxide a year by recycling half of the waste your household generates.
  • Buy recycled paper products.  It takes less 70 to 90 per cent less energy to make recycled paper and it prevents the loss of forests worldwide.
  • Avoid heavily packaged products. You can save 544 kilos of carbon dioxide if you cut down your garbage by 10 per cent.
  • Reuse items instead of buying new ones.
  • Try and avoid buying drink cartons made of a paper/polyethylene mix, as they are hard to recycle.
  • When buying plastics, the following types are recyclable: PET (polyethylene terephalate), HDPE (high-density polyethylene) and LDPE (low-density polyethylene).
  • If you use a dry cleaner, ask them to put several items of clothing in the one plastic cover.
Water
  • Put a brick or a full bottle in your toilet cistern to reduce the amount of water used in each flush.
  • Collect the water in your bath and shower with a bucket while it is heating up and use on your gardens or in your washing machine.
  • Have quick showers.  A five minute shower instead of a 10 minute shower can save one tonne of CO2 a year.
  • Wait until you have a full load in your washing machine (or dishwasher) before using it. This saves water and energy, and reduces the amount of detergent entering the sewerage system.
  • Never leave a tap running in between uses.
  • Put a plug in the sink instead of using running water, for various purposes (e.g. washing dishes / fruit / veg / hands).
  • Never use hoses on hard surfaces.
  • Install a rainwater tank.
  • Report any water leaks straight away.
  • Educate others about water conservation.
  • When on holidays, ask for your towels to be washed every other day or less.
  • Use water sparingly when travelling. The average tourist uses as much water in 24 hours as a villager in the developing world users in 100 days.