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’.