Sunday 22 June 2008

Think what you are doing

I was standing in a clients kitchen chatting to her about eco-friendliness, recycling and associated issues.

As she was singing her own praises about how committed she had become in recent times, she was running her hot tap, one hand in the stream to test water temperature.

After three or four gallons of water had been wasted in this manner she placed a tin can into the stream and for the several minutes she held it there she explained that she always washed cans before putting them in the recycling bin.

The carbon cost of processing and distribution of drinking water is far higher than many would imagine - the greater part being in the electricity used in the many pumping stations. The water that this lady was directing back into the sewer was more expensive than when it entered the home because of the energy used by her boiler to heat it.

To make matters worse, in this instance the tin had formerly contained only peas and water, so there was no real need to rinse it at all! Where I feel that a tin needs a partial rinse to reduce decomposition odours I find that half-filling with cold water followed by a good shake with the palm of a hand over the top is normally quite sufficient for the purpose.

Before we put on our 'recyclers hat', let's please ensure that the brain that will be beneath it is up-and-running.

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