Dont buy junk! - Eco Tips 4 (31/1/10)

As the title says, Don’t buy junk. Every year we throw away tonnes of stuff. Much of it is things we brought that we no longer need or they simple broke down. Many of the products we buy these days are built cheaply and not made to last. They are designed to break after a short period of time. If you don’t believe me ask your grandparents or someone else who’s been around a while. There was a time when things were built strong to last people for long periods of time. But this doesn’t really help the economy does it? How can you produce 1000s of these cheap products if they last for ever and no one ever buys another one? It’s not rocket science to realise that model is unsustainable. So they deliberate made things to break. They break and you buy a new one. There for they sell more products and make more money and they are happy.

But this model isn’t exactly very sustainable is it. We can’t afford to keep wasting resources like that. I guess it’s not as bad if the company that made them took them all back but I can assure you they don’t. Very few companies have any form of return policy. Some of the larger computer manufactures now take back their own products but its limited and unless you live near one of their depots it may cost you money to get it to them...

This whole idea is known as the consumer society as this video does a good job of explaining: http://www.storyofstuff.com/

So now when you’re out shopping. Think about these 4 things before making purchases.

1. Do I really need it?
2. Is it going to last?
3. Can it be easily recycled?
4. Is it over packaged?

Also avoid shops you know sell junk or cheap items you know are junk. For example don’t buy the absolutely cheapest product if the more expensive one next to it will last you twice as long. And on the note of over packaging its only designed to protect the item for a short period of time then be thrown away so if you can avoid it in the first place it be best.

Another simple option is buy second hand goods. Not brand new ones. After all buying second hand items is essentially recycling them.

Some further reading on the topic:

• http://lastyearsmodel.org/
• http://www.electronicstakeback.com/problem/not_designed_for_recycling.htm

If anyone’s got any other links please let me know.

And to help a bit more some good examples of cheap badly made products would be. $5 electronic items, really cheap cloths, really cheap toys. Odds are these are badly made and won’t last very long at all..

Also on this note, avoid buying those serial packets with little useless gadgets in them. They are pointless and impossible to recycle. I tried to break one apart once god it was solid took a hammer and a bit of work... o and the CD’s... Avoid them all....

Home made air conditioner - Eco Tips 3 (24/1/10)

This week’s tip is a bit different but given that the area i live in is suffering another heat wave at the moment it seemed fitting.

The home made air conditioner is a fairly simple idea. It uses a fan that is much more energy efficient than an air conditioner and some wet towels. You set the fan up in the room you wish to cool and then get a cloths drying rack (much like this one) or some chairs and hang the towels in front of the air conditioner. Basically so that the fan is blowing against the damp towels. The effect is cooler air coming out the other side. Fans themselves don't cool air they simply move it around but by doing this it will make the air cooler. It uses a lot less energy than an air conditioner too.

In order for it to work well you need to close the windows and pull the curtains but id hope you would do that anyway otherwise your air conditioner will be working much harder than it needs too.

Also do use your cloths drying rack to dry the cloths instead of an electronic one. The electronic ones are such a waste of energy. Maybe you can solve to problems at once this way :).

Unwanted Christmas Gifts - Eco Tips 2 (16/1/10)

Every year people give each other gifts for Christmas. Many of these will be appreciated but some are also unwanted. This maybe for a wide range of reasons. These unwanted gifts often end up in the bin or stuffed into a cupboard where you put all the things you own but don't want to know about.

In future we should sell these gifts. Ebay have being running a promotion offering free insertion if the bidding starts below a dollar. This is an incentive for people to sell their unwanted gifts. And i urge you to do the same. That offer ended on the 14th of January. But it’s not like the listing fee was huge beforehand. 30c is the minimum and if you ask for fewer than 10 dollars as the starting price its only 50c. That isn’t a huge amount so why don't you take advantage of this opportunity to sell of your unwanted junk. Not just Christmas presents but everything else too. Clean out your house for summer. As they say one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. So take advantage of that and sell your unwanted items. Or if that’s too much trouble for them and they could easily be used by others give them to charity. There is no point them sitting in your cupboard or going to land fill, that helps no one.

So in 2010 do your bit and give away your unwanted gifts and items. And before you buy them think do people really want this?

Some links to help:

• http://www.ebay.com.au/
• https://www.yours2take.com.au/
• http://www.ecycled.com/
• http://www.ozrecycle.com/

Heaters and Air Conditioners - Eco Tips 1 (8/1/10)

Heaters and Air Conditioners.

Most of us living in the developed world will have heating and cooling in our homes. We probably wouldn't like to live without it. But heating or cooling a home is a very energy intensive task. Here are some tips to help reduce that.

1. Turn down the temperature. A few degrees warmer in summer and a few degrees cooler in winter make a difference to the power usage.

2. Set a timer if possible. If the device has the ability to switch its self off use it. Most modern air conditioners do.

3. Seal the room or building you are cooling or heating well so that the air isn’t slipping out the cracks.

4. Use a fan instead of an air conditioner. They use significantly less power as all it’s got to do is power a small electric motor.

5. When it breaks down replace it with one with a high energy star rating.

6. Look at alternative forms of heating or just put more cloths on.

7. Keep air conditioner unit out of full sun.

8. Don’t heat or cool your house when you don't need to. Just open a window.

9. Shade windows with blinds or pull the curtains to keep the heat in or out. (depending on the season).

Hope these tips help people :).

Welcome

Welcome to the Every Little bit helps blog :). Here i will post updates about the site and Eco tips each week to help people change there lives for the better in 2010 :), Stay tuned.