Take your own shopping bags with you when shopping, each time you purchase bags, they are likely to go straight into a waste bin and on to a landfill.
Always buy locally produced, in-season goods, save the planet by reducing the carbon emissions that come from importing products.
Avoid unnecessary paper use, printing and photocopying, purchase recycled paper and always use both sides of the page.
When you’re out on the town and eating out, remember SASSI, this initiative seeks to inform consumers andretailers of the status of fish stocks and to shift consumerdemand away from over-exploited species to more sustainable options.
GREENING
Plant a Tree — a single tree will absorb one tonne of carbon dioxide over its lifetime and shade provided by trees can also reduce your air conditioning bill by 10% – 15%.
Make a conscious effort to separate and recycle glass, plastic, paper and biodegradable products in your home and at work Avoid excessive packaging, much of the packaging on products in stores is unnecessary.
Re-use glass containers, jars and tubs in your home or office, this will help you to avoid purchasing additional packaging materials for your home and office.
WASTE
Start a compost heap at home, discard of all your biodegradable materials from the kitchen in the heap, include grass cuttings, leaves from the garden and any garden cuttings, this will all make for excellent compost
Start an earthworm farm, use off-cuts from the kitchen, eggshells and cardboard to feed your worms. The juices your earthworms excrete make excellent organic fertiliser.
WATER
Shower instead of bathing; an average bath uses about 160 litres of water, whereas a 5 minute shower it only uses about 60 litres.
Use a low-flow shower head, this can save between 50% – 70% of your shower water.
Most toilets have a dual flush option that allows you to save water by using only a half flush. If you do not have this option, reduce the toilet flush volume by placing a 2 litre plastic bottle filled with water in your cistern, this can save you up to 20% water consumption.
Repair leaks and dripping taps.
Capture rainwater and use it to irrigate your garden.
Grey water: re-use bath water, dish water, hot water bottle water, these can all be used to water your garden.
ENERGY
Turn off your lights in unused rooms
Lower your geysers’ heating temperature.
Choose a laptop over a desktop, it consumes 5 times less electricity.
Replace the traditional incandescent light bulbs with energy-efficient compact fluorescent lamps.
Unplug appliances that are not in use — don’t leave them on stand-by mode
Only fill the kettle up with as much water as you need
Use less hot water, it takes a lot of energy to heat water
Opt for a solar water geyser instead of the conventional water geyser
Over 30% of your home’s heat escapes through the roof, install a layer of insulation and you can save on heating and cooling costs
Buy fresh foods instead of frozen food, which uses 10 times more energy to produce
TRAVEL GREEN
Reduce your car usage as far as possible; try car pooling, it’s a fun change from just listening to your radio.
Change your driving habits; you can save a lot of money and fuel by avoiding harsh braking and accelerating.
Check your tyre pressure regularly, under-inflated tyres can cause fuel consumption to increase.
Open a window and dress appropriately instead of using air conditioning.
Reduce your air and road miles by making use of teleconferencing/Skype.
Plant trees to counteract your carbon footprint.
Investigate the policy of the airline you fly with; it’s always better to fly with an airline that has an environmental policy and is green conscious.
