Audits for city folk – there’s an idea
Farmers have worn a lot of finger-pointing on the environment despite most playing by the rules and many doing better than what the rules require. It is rural communities we can thank for much of the environmental progress we’ve already made.
There are isolated instances of poor behaviour, just as in any industry, but in aggregate farmers are moving forward. Increasingly, farmers have been required to operate under farm management plans (FMPs), against which their environmental performance is audited.
City folk should consider what their equivalent of an FMP – let’s call it a household management plan (HMP) – would look like.
FMPs manage the environmental impact from farming practices. They require farmers to identify risks and environmental impact, and document how they will address them, usually within set limits or to meet the requirements of a regional plan. Efforts are independently audited.
FMPs cover things such as soil maintenance, irrigation, fertiliser use, stocking rates and planting. The majority of dairy farmers have fenced off waterways and now plant along stream margins to further reduce their environmental impact.
It’s not just dairy farmers either – market gardeners, sheep farmers and horticulturalists all need one too.
While farmers have been asked to do more, the urban environmental conversation is yet to get under way.
Urban issues include: effluent disposal, such as those things we flush that we shouldn’t; rubbish disposal including fatbergs (drips of fat down the sink); urban water use rates; and heavy metals in waterways via copper brake pads on our cars and copper spouting and zinc roofing on houses.
Include too our council sewerage systems that overflow in bad weather or even after light rain in some places.
Oils, paints, solvents, detergents and other contaminants go down drains into waterways. Poor sediment control on building sites affects waterways. Poor recycling practices make for contaminated recycling that defeats the purpose of recycling in the first place. We also need to consider emissions from daily transport and household energy efficiency.
So in a time of water shortages, where at least two major cities have had recent effluent discharge issues, what would a household management plan look like?
An HMP would include your household’s use of water. Cities where you have to pay for it use less. Will you pay to support the environment?
It would look at your use of household chemicals and cleaners, fertilisers and pesticides.
You’d be conscious of not washing your car on the driveway or hosing it off into the gutter, where detergents and sediments would impact on waterways. Do you collect and store water for household consumption? Do you reuse grey water for your garden?
You would know about your household greenhouse gas emissions and energy footprint and what steps you’re taking towards a low- or zerocarbon outcome, particularly in relation to transport options.
Thinking about fertilising the lawn? Have you tested it first? Are you applying the right fertiliser? At the right levels? Is your irrigation system efficient? Do you test soil moisture beforehand? Could you grow plants and veggies that require less water?
What about your storage of hazardous goods, paint, and health and safety stuff? Do you wear a mask when you open that bag of potting mix? How do you dispose of old medicines?
Does your household reduce the use of palm oil commonly found in products ranging from chocolates to soaps? Palm kernel extract has been an issue for animal consumption, but a double standard seems to apply when it’s for our benefit. Do you sort your waste into compostable, recyclable and landfill waste streams?
And don’t forget to have your HMP audited annually by a qualified independent person to assure the community that you’re doing it right.
If you think your household quantities don’t compare to a farm, stop and think of your neighbours, and their neighbours, and the community you live in. It adds up. The urban environmental footprint is huge.
The rural community is leading. But the urban effort needs to gather pace. Ratepayers and businesses will pay in time and money, just as farmers are now. Of course doing nothing is not an option either.
A household management plan might sound far-fetched but puts in perspective what farmers are facing at no small cost to themselves. It’s time for cities to step up too.