Waste and Water Efficiency
Wind, Waves Water
Defining Terms
Water efficiency: Water efficiency is reducing water wastage by measuring the amount of water required for a particular purpose and the amount of water used or delivered. Water efficiency differs from water conservation in that it focuses on reducing waste, not restricting use.
Energy efficiency: reducing the energy used to do the same amount of workâcentral to reducing the country’s greenhouse gas emissions. While energy efficiency can cost money up front, it tends to save money for homes and businesses in the long-term. This makes energy efficiency a win-win solution.
Waste efficiency: Reducing the amount of single-use plastics used, soft plastics being wasted and the amount of pollution produced.
Food efficiency: reducing the amount of produce wasted, left-overs and scraps that go into landfill. As well as cosmetic standards in the supermarket industry and reducing the amount of fresh fruit and veg that does not get put through.
How does my household contribute to sustainability?
Water
In my house, if we ever have unused boiled water from the kettle or from making pasta, we use it later to water our indoor plants.
Energy
We make sure to turn off heaters, lights and TVs when they are not in use, as well as using eco air settings on our oven. We also are considering solar panels. Personally during winter, I use an electric blanket that automatically turns off after 2 hours.
Food
We usually put our food scraps and left overs into the FOGO disposal plan in our neighbourhood, as well as doing our best to freeze and eat whatever does not get eaten. We also try to limit the amount of food we buy each trip, and hold off from certain items until we really need it.
Waste
In order to cut down on waste, we use our own bags when going shopping and we reject the offer of plastic bags. We also like to collect our plastic bottles and correctly recycle them at the 10c facility. we also aim to use Tupperware over zip-lock bags, and we use biodegradable rubbish bags and baking paper.
What more could we do?
I believe there is much more my family could do in order to become more ecofriendly. If we started consistently sorting our rubbish better and installing a more efficient sprinkler system, it would help our consumption. I also believe that during the summer we should stop using our dryer and start hanging all of our clothes more. We could all also be more water conscious about how much water we use during showers, washing and more. If everyone in the world was able to consistently keep track of their carbon footprint and consumptions, the world would be a greener place.