Simple Solutions - Start making a difference!

There are many, many ways in which you can start to make a difference in the way that you interact with the world around you, even small changes all add up to help the bigger picture. These can be as simple as turning off a light when you leave a room, to making a more informed decision about how you dispose of wastes. These are a few ideas of things that we have found easy to implement, and on a day to day basis are cost effective and can be done whether you live in a flat or on a farm. 

 
 
The number inside the recycling symbol as well as the letters below, tell you what kind of plastic this packaging is, and that it is recyclable. Some will specify that the packaging is not recycled at this time.

The number inside the recycling symbol as well as the letters below, tell you what kind of plastic this packaging is, and that it is recyclable. Some will specify that the packaging is not recycled at this time.

The three 'r's - reduce, re-use, recycle

One of the easiest, no-cost changes we can make in our lifestyles, is to practice the above: 

  • Reduce the amount of solid waste we are responsible for

  • Re-use whatever you can, whenever possible

  • Recycle what spills over from the previous two

  • It is important to educate oneself on what can and can't be recycled, and paying attention to the product information on packaging

  • This brings us to an additional 'R' : Refuse, because we vote with our wallets, and we should support only what we wish to see succeed

LED's come in most sizes, fittings and colour temperatures

LED's come in most sizes, fittings and colour temperatures

Use re-usable bags whenever possible

Use re-usable bags whenever possible

Choose products carefully, avoid products with non-recyclable packaging.

Choose products carefully, avoid products with non-recyclable packaging.

resource consumption and efficiency

There are some very simple things that we can do daily, both at home and in work environments, to reduce our energy and resource consumption:

  • Use gas for heating and cooking wherever possible, rather than electricity

  • Ensure that hot-water geysers are well insulated with a geyser blanket. Hot water pipes should also be insulated wherever possible

  • Turn lights off when leaving a room, and whenever possible

  • Ensure all light bulbs are LED's

  • Only fill a kettle with the amount of water needed

  • Don't leave water running when washing the dishes - same for brushing teeth

  • Put a bucket in the shower and use the water collected to water plants

  • Put a brick in your toilet cistern - this displaces almost a litre, which is then saved every time you flush

  • Take your own re-usable bags when shopping, buy in bulk to minimize packaging wherever possible

  • Use earth-friendly, biodegradable products

 
A simple worm farm turns kitchen waste into fantastic compost, and the effluent is nutrient-rich liquid fertilizer.

A simple worm farm turns kitchen waste into fantastic compost, and the effluent is nutrient-rich liquid fertilizer.

Organic waste cycling

A problem with landfill in this country is that it contains a large amount of organic waste (food, kitchen and garden waste) due to lack of sorting of waste into different types, which should be dealt with differently. Most municipal waste is collected and taken directly to the allocated landfill site, where it is buried. This results in the exclusion of oxygen during the breakdown process, which produces methane gas via anaerobic digestion. When this happens in a biodigester, the methane is harvested and used as a fuel, but in landfill, this usually escapes to the atmosphere, where it is 23 times more active as a Greenhouse gas than Carbon Dioxide.

So all organic waste should be cycled using a worm farm, Bokashi bin, or compost heap, and never disposed of together with general waste.