Week 4

Recycling

Showers: 19

Dishwasher cycles: 7 (on eco setting)

Washing machine: 9 (on eco setting, using cold water)

Lights on at night: approx. 14

Bins of rubbish: 5 (small bin)

Meat products bought: 0

Bins of recycling: 1/2 (large bin)

This week I bought a recycling container to keep next to the inside bin which will make it easier to sort recyclables from landfill rubbish. We can then transfer the box into the big recycling bin outside. We have been through about 2 full boxes of recycling this week. Everyone is making a big effort to sort our rubbish into organic, recyclable and landfill.

You can put the following things in your recycling bin:

• paper and cardboard
• aluminium and steel cans
• empty aerosol cans
• all hard plastic containers
• glass bottles and jars
• milk and juice cartons
• pizza boxes
• aluminium foil and trays
• rigid household plastic items like kitchen storage containers and plastic toys
• steel pots and pans (no glass lids)

(City of Melbourne, Recycling, 2014)

The commercial waste sent to landfill from 2008-2009 in Victoria was 98,000 tonnes. This is almost half the total waste sent to landfill.
30-40% of this waste was recyclable and should not have gone to landfill.
10-20% of this waste was organic.
40-50% of this waste was low cost, high energy materials ideal for energy generation.
The remainder was not easily recoverable and goes into landfill. (EPA, 2014)

This is the recyclables box.

Week 3

Environmentally Friendly Cleaning Products

Showers: 23

Dishwasher cycles: 6 (on eco setting)

Washing machine: 8 (on eco setting, using cold water)

Lights on at night: approx. 15

Bins of rubbish: 5 (small bin)

Meat products bought: 1

Bins of recycling: 1/2 (large bin)

Many cleaning products contain highly toxic chemicals. There are thousands of chemicals in common use, some of which have not been safely tested, though the effects of many are known. When we wash these chemicals down the drain they can pollute streams and rivers and may take a very long time to degrade into harmless products, and some may not break down at all but may persist in the environment. These may enter the food chain, eaten by aquatic animals, and maybe eventually by us. When consumed or absorbed through the skin, they can have harmful effects. (Green Choices, 2014)

This week the household has been cleaned top to bottom with bicarbonate soda aka baking soda! To clean bathroom and kitchen benches I sprinkled bicarb onto a wet cloth and used it in replacement of a cream cleaner. We also sprinkled bicarb onto the carpets upstairs then vacuumed it up which worked fantastically as replacement for powdered carpet cleaner. 

For more tips on how to clean with bicarb I found this website particularly helpful: Cleaning With Bicarb Soda http://www.athriftymrs.com/2011/08/cleaning-with-bicarbonate-of-soda.html

Week 2

Composting

Showers : 24

Dishwasher cycles: 9 (on eco setting)

Washing machine: 7 (on eco setting, using cold water)

Lights on at night: approx. 17

Bins of rubbish: 4 (small bin)

Meat products bought: 3

Bins of recycling: 1/3 (large bin)

This week I have focused on composting. We have a compost bin in our backyard which has rarely been used and so I have encouraged all my housemates to try and compost their coffee grounds, plant trimmings, and food scraps. We can then use the end product to fertilise our small backyard garden!
Plant trimmings and food scraps make up 1/6 of our waste that we put into the rubbish bin at home. Organic waste does not need to be thrown away, but can instead be put to good use in our back gardens. Composting converts leaves, gardening off-cuts and left overs into a mixture that can be used as a fertiliser and reduces the amount of water we need to sustain our gardens. (Environment Victoria, 2014) A great way to minimise your household’s organic waste is to make or buy a compost bin for your yard. 

Some things that are not compostable, are foods that contain dairy, meat or oils, pet excrement, diseased plants and weeds that have gone to seed.
To start, layer the inside of your compost bin with brown materials then alternate between greens and browns to add layers of carbon and nitrogen. These materials compost better when they are in smaller pieces so it is good to shred or chop up larger pieces. The pile must be kept moist so it is important to water the bin if it becomes too dry. During Summer you can water the pile once to twice a week when it is not raining. After about a week the pile will be ready for turning. The pile should be turned once a week to ensure that it is well-aired. This also controls any odours that may develop. (Minnesota Control Agency, 2010)

There are two different types of compostable materials. Greens and browns. Both these types of materials provide different and essential nutrients that help create a rich and quality compost.


Greens include fresh leaves, fruit and vegetables scraps, grass clippings, tea bags, coffee grounds and even human or animal hair. These produce nitrogen and are a source of protein for microbes that live inside your compost heap.
Browns include straw, wood chips, sawdust, shredded newspaper, dried grass and leaves, corn cobs and stalks, twigs and branches. These produce carbon and energy for the microbes. (Minnesota Control Agency, 2010)

This is our compost bin, full to the brim with organic waste!

Week 1

This Week

Showers : 21

Dishwasher cycles: 6 (on eco setting)

Washing machine: 8 (on eco setting, using cold water)

Lights on at night: approx. 14 (usually kitchen/loungeroom only - we have small inbuilt ceiling light fixtures)

Bins of rubbish: 5 (small bin)

Meat products bought: 2

Bins of recycling: 1/2 (large bin)

I have told my housemates about the Eco Challenge and they have all been enthusiastic to get on board and help me with my project. We all had less showers this week and reduced the amount of time spent per shower by a few minutes each. Everyone has been especially conscious of turning off the lights when not in the room (even for a few minutes). I am really pleased with everyone's attitude towards the challenge so far.

The Eco Setting

This week I have decided to start off my journal by exploring the 'eco setting'. On a lot of modern appliances there is the option of an eco setting and it is something that my housemates and I use when doing a dishwasher cycle and putting on a load of washing. However, I have never really known exactly how it made the cycle more eco-friendly. This is what I found:

On a washing machine the eco setting alters the water temperature. It usually runs a longer cycle at a lower temperature or heats the water to the same temperature as your regular wash but takes longer to do so. (Chadwick, 2012)

Is it worth it? The eco setting on a washing machine is not always the most energy efficient cycle.  Washing clothes at 30 degrees or under uses 40% less energy than washing at a higher temperature (Energy Saving Trust, 2014) so sometimes simply choosing a cold wash is more effective than using the eco button depending on your washing machine. Front loader washing machines are also more energy efficient in comparison to top loaders. Top loaders need enough water to cover all the clothes inside the drum whereas a front loader is set horizontally so no where near as much water is needed as water is distributed evenly as gravity pulls the clothes downward. A top loader can spin as fast as 1000rpm whereas a front loader reaches only 650rpm on an average cycle. (Chadwick, 2012)

The eco cycle on a dishwasher works much the same as a washing machine by heating the water more slowly over a longer period of time. By using an eco option you can reduce the washer’s energy consumption by 20%. (Chadwick, 2012) 

My findings from doing a little bit of research have concluded that we should continue using the eco setting on all our appliances. It is useful to know how and why energy is saved. In the future I would definitely buy a front-loader washing machine rather than our current old model top-loader.

My Favourite Places

Some photographs I have taken of some of the most beautiful places I have ever been, all set in the incredible pristine Tasmanian wilderness. These are the places I hope stay untouched forever.

The Plan

About me

I live in Newport, Victoria in a new house (built ten years ago) with three friends aged 19-21. I consider myself to be a fairly ecologically-minded person. I was brought up in an environmentally aware family and went to a primary school in the Tasmanian bush which was very outdoor-based. Sustainability and nature were major themes throughout the early years of my education. My family is completely vegetarian and so I have been a vegetarian for almost all of my life for ethical reasons. I try not to eat any animal products at all including dairy and eggs and buy fruit and vegetables from farmer's markets (which are plentiful in Hobart) but I have discovered a few around the area I live in, which source local farming produce. I buy almost all of my clothing and furniture from second-hand stores and rarely buy new magazines or books. I am especially passionate about the conservation of Tasmania’s old growth forests as I visited some of the major Tasmanian logging sites when I was younger, and it was a truly devastating and shocking experience.

If everyone lived like me we would need 2.2 Earths to provide enough resource. To support my current lifestyle it takes 4 global hectares of the Earth’s productive area. The average Victorian requires 6.8 productive hectares to support their lifestyle. However, there are only 1.8 productive hectares available per person. Victoria’s footprint is over three times higher than the global average of 2.2 productive hectares per person. (Victoria’s Ecological Footprint, 2008) This level of consumption is clearly unsustainable.

My eco footprint is divided into categories

Food 25%

I am already a vegetarian and barely eat animal products. I try to source local produce wherever possible. I would also like to encourage my housemates to buy less packaged and processed food and consume less meat (although they do not consume very much at present).

Shelter 19%

I have just moved into a brick home that is one of a few units that are free standing. It is a big house and has running water and electricity. Our electricity provider does not use green energy which is disappointing but through some research when we were decided on a provider we found that most green energy companies were much more expensive and therefore not an option for us. However, since the house was built in the last ten years it is relatively economical. It uses a new energy efficient evaporative cooling system. I am interested in finding out more about how energy efficient our light fittings are.

Mobility 24%

I live a bit out of the city but commute almost completely by public transport other than a weekly/fortnightly trip to the markets and shops to buy groceries with my housemates carpooling. I walk wherever I can.

Goods 9%

Our household buys all our furniture, white goods and clothing second-hand. We have only bought a new toaster and kettle and some other small necessities since moving into the house.

Services 25%

We use lighting and heating/cooling systems sparingly. There are lots more energy saving techniques we can use which are listed below and I will explore in detail over the course of the journal. I want to mainly focus on reducing appliance usage, and electricity and water consumption. I have not been able to collect starting information on our gas consumption (which would be very little anyway) as we have had problems connecting the account and have been not been receiving bills (or having to pay!) as a result.

I hope by the end of this journal to have created awareness within my household and wider group of friends about the everyday things we can do to reduce our ecological footprint.

Our household’s current consumption

Week 1 Consumption Rates According to Bills
Water in kilolitres (kl) (Over period: 18/02/14 - 31/03/14)	20.24kl. Average daily usage: 500 litres (125l of water)
Electricity in kilowatt-hours (kWh) (Over period: 11/02/14 - 19/03/14)	481.66kWh
Average waste in kilograms (kg) per day	3.4kg total (1.2kg organic) (2.2kg non-organic)
Gas	N/A - As explained above

Average no per week

Showers : 22

Dishwasher cycles: 8 (on eco setting)

Washing machine: 8 (on eco setting, using cold water)

Lights on at night: 12 (usually kitchen/loungeroom only - we have small inbuilt ceiling light fixtures)

Bins of rubbish: 4 (small bin)

Meat products bought: 1

Bins of recycling: 1/2 (large bin)

Sustainable measures already in place

Almost completely vegetarian household

Making sure lights are off in rooms that are unoccupied

Only using heating/cooling when necessary - dress appropriate to the weather instead

Using eco setting on appliances that have the option

Catching the train/tram to uni rather than driving

Carpooling to the shops/market once a week

Buying local produce from Footscray markets or Newport farmer’s market

Changes that can be made

Make sure taps never drip and there are no leaks (check water meter and record usage overnight)

Shorter showers (4mins at most)

Only turn on washing machine when full 

Turn off all appliances at the powerpoint when not in use

Buy less packaged food

Check whether food we buy is made/farmed in Australia

Make use of compost bin, then recycle on garden bed

Household plastic bag ban (there is a complete ban on plastic bags in shops in Tasmania which I think should be implemented Australia-wide)

Only turn on washing machine when full

Make sure everything recyclable is put in the right bin

Write shopping lists etc on the back of scrap paper

Ensure all wood products (toilet paper, writing paper) bear the Forest Stewardship Council symbol

Buy eco-friendly cleaning products or use bicarbonate soda

Double-sided printing

Estimated Water Usage

This is our estimated water consumption as a household calculated on the Hunter Water Usage Calculator online. (Hunter Water, 2014) As you can see, our water consumption goes mainly into the bathroom area. This is not a surprise as all of the household enjoys long hot showers. This is something we can definitely focus on improving. Having 4 minute showers instead of 10 minute ones will reduce our water usage drastically. The next area of concern is the laundry. We can reduce our water usage in this area by using the washing machine less frequently and only turning on a cycle when there is a full load. We only use cold water when we wash and use the ‘eco setting’.