Tips for Green Living

WASTE

Reduce:

1. Buy only what you need and avoid buying excessively packaged products.
2. Buy in bulk (less packaging) those items you use a lot.  Buy refills and concentrates.
3. Buy products that offer packaging made from recycled materials, such as kitchen towels and shampoo bottles with recycled plastic content.
4. Try to avoid disposable products, such as disposable razors, cameras and paper plates.
5. Choose glass over plastic as it can be recycled.  Many plastic packaging items are still not recyclable in South Africa.
6. Avoid toxic or hazardous products

Reuse/Repair:

1. Where you no longer have a use for something, find somebody who does.  Schools, charities, libraries and some drop-off centres may accept unwanted clothes, furniture, toys, books, videos and magazines.
2. Repair items rather than throwing them away.  Support you local seamstress, shoemaker, bike repair shop and so on.  This also stimulates jobs in your community.

Handy ideas for reusing household goods:

1. Store food in reusable containers, rather than non-recyclable cling-wrap or tin foil made from resource sensitive aluminum.
2. Reuse gift wrap and greeting cards.
3. Consider non-material gifts such as a night out.
4. Cut up used paper into squares to reuse as notepads.
5. Use both sides of any piece of paper and then recycle.
6. Plastic pots and waxed or plastic coated milk or juice cartons make excellent pots for seedlings.

Recycle

1.  Recycle waste that cannot be repaired or reused by dropping it off at your nearest recycling depot or drop off facility.
2. Choose packaging and products that have recycled contents and are recyclable look for the recycled symbol.
3. Use your vegetable waste to make compost.

Becoming a recycling home

Separating your waste

The benefits of recycling:

1. Reduces the amount of waste going into landfill sites, saving airspace;
2. Create jobs and money for schools and organizations;
3. Reduces pollution and litter;
4. Saves raw materials needed to make new products;
5. Slows down the consumption of the worlds non-renewable (oil, coal and iron) and renewable resources (trees);
6. Reduces energy costs in manufacturing of containers, packing, ect.; and
7. Saves water (used in packaging and product manufacturing).  Recycling paper uses 50% less water than paper that is made from wood pulp.

Contacts and Resources:

ENERGY

Purchasing energy-efficient appliances

1. If your geyser or the pipes leading from it are warm to the touch this means it is losing heat and wasting energy.
2. Insulate your geyser and hot water pipes using geyser insulation piping, or by wrapping a blanket or newspaper around them.  Material batting (that lines quilts and duvets) and then heavy-duty aluminum foil wrapped around the geyser with string works well.
3. Reduce the temperature on the geyser.  Optimal settings are 50 degrees in summer and 60 degrees in winter.  Most geysers are set at 65 degrees.  Reducing you geyser thermostat by 1 degree Celsius could save 10% of your heating costs.
4. Install a timer that switches the geyser on according to the time you set it and therefore avoids heating water when you do not need it.  Note: The timer is only effective if the geyser is insulated.
5. Vertical geysers are more energy-efficient than those placed horizontally.

Cooking

1. Check that rubber seals on ovens are not worn or perished as this will use up more electricity.
2. Buy the smallest sized appliance that you can for your cooking needs. This will save fuel.
3. When buying any cooking appliances, check the energy efficiency ratings. When buying paraffin stoves or gas rings, check that they have the SABS stamp. This means that the government checked the quality of the appliance.
4. Use a kettle to boil water. A kettle uses 50% less electricity that heating water in a pot on the stove.  Only boil the amount needed, but make sure the element is covered.
5. Soak beans, samp and lentils overnight as this saves time, money and several hours of cooking.

Refrigeration

1. Buy energy-efficient fridges and deep freezers.  Ask for refrigerators that have a highly efficient compressor and BLDC fan motor to help save energy.  Compare consumption figures of different models.  This information is usually available with the product.
2. Always keep a space at the back of the fridge for air to circulate around the condenser coils.  These should also be kept free of dust as this makes the fridge less efficient.
3. A full fridge uses less energy than an empty one.  Keep bottles of water in your fridge as they will retain the cold.
4. Make sure that the rubber seal of your fridge is in good condition so that the cold air does not escape.  If you seal has worn out and the fridge does not close properly, note the make and model of your fridge and approach the manufacturer, or any appliance store or repair business in your area, for a new seal. To replace the old seal you will need to unscrew the liner between the outer and inner door, pull the old one and insert the new rubber seal and replace the screws.

Lighting your home