Household waste, that is *.
Here are 10 quick ways to reduce the amount of garbage that goes into your bins every week. Even if you’re not thinking about the environmental impact of doing this; it’ll be less to carry.
CFLs and Mercury
The other day, Rob pointed me to an article on a topic which has been in the news quite a bit lately – the concern over the mercury contained in compact fluorescent (CFL) lamps. The original piece is here.
That article – and many others – gives the reader a somewhat inaccurate impression of the situation. Here’s a brief look at the use of compact fluorescent lighting, including the safe disposal of broken or used bulbs.
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Monitoring Your Energy Usage
Having access to any sort of information – in real time – can help make almost anything more effective. A car’s speedometer, a wristwatch; that thin red line you see on televised swimming finals.
When it comes to energy use around the house, this idea certainly holds true. Having an idea of the amount of electricity, water, gas etc which is being used can help you make real changes – quickly. And as you’re likely to be saving money in the process, the first place you’ll notice the benefits may just be your utility bills.
As with most things on the market, there are a number of options when it comes to energy monitoring. Here are a few of my favourites.
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Solar Technology in the Streets
The other day I noticed a solar-powered lighting system beside a main road, connected to a set of school-zone warning lights *. Once I began looking, I noted several solar-powered devices around the streets. Here are just a few of my favourites.
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Saving Water : Designing a water-efficient house
This is the sixth and final article (part I, II, III, IV and V) in our series on Saving Water. Living in Sydney, Australia I’m acutely aware of the value of this precious resource.
Designing a new house? Great. This article looks at the many things you can do at this point which will radically reduce the amount of water you use – without adding anything at all to the total cost.
By how much can you reduce it? In many areas, it’s quite possible to disconnect from the mains supply altogether – or at least to stop using water from that source.
Let’s get started.
Water conservation can be broken into three broad areas. These are :
- reduce the amount you use
- collect your rainwater *
- re-use it where possible (clean it as necessary)
Looking at it this way, you’ll see that it isn’t a single problem to be addressed. Several small changes will have a major impact.
* I realise that this could be placed in the ‘re-use’ category, but it’s such a key change that it’s been given a category of its own.
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