Saving the world in easy stages
My friends should look away now because apparently I’ve been boring them stiff, rattling on about my latest project. One glass of Pinot and I’m off on one!
Before I go any further, by recounting the following I’m not being preachy.
I’m well aware of the phrase ‘It’s easy for you to say’ in that I’m single, have no dependants and do not drive a car.
In other words, I can save the world single handed, no problem, as long as everyone else in my boat does it too!
My latest project is aimed at helping the environment and saving money at the same time.
I’ve always been an avid recycler, ever since the days of Bath Arts Workshop and their associates at Walcot Reclamation in the 1970’s.
People laugh at the serried ranks of colourful recycling bins in my kitchen.
Paper, metal, plastic, organic, you name it. I enjoy sorting my detritus, reminds me of playing shops when I was a kid.
But how depressing is it that the box that needs emptying most often is the non-recyclable stuff like shrink wrap and all those bags and wrappings that seem to be an essential part of our instant delivery culture.
Even my cucumbers arrive shrouded in thick plastic film.
What really set me thinking was reading that several billion disposable razors go into landfill or even the ocean every year worldwide.
I’ve already sent for my ecological bamboo safety razor and signed up for a free returns system for the blades.
I have instigated a no-lightsunless-i’m-in-the-room rule, have replaced all bulbs with energy efficient versions and fitted motionactivated battery lights in my corridor and bathroom for those night time visits.
I replaced my horrendous immersion heater, a steaming monster held together with gaffa tape, with a compact and highly efficient unit.
The old fashioned storage heaters have gone, superseded by sleek German technology so I only have heat where and when I want it. And not before December this year. It’s jumper city round here!
I’ve even been turning off the light in my aquarium, with the added bonus that the annoying green algae has disappeared.
Where laundry is concerned (and this is where my mates really start nodding off), it’s twenty degrees for my whites and cold wash cycle for my famous manmade fabric Hawaiian shirts and even some of my cottons.
A fresh clean wash is perfectly achievable at these temperatures using the advanced detergent capsules on the market.
I sometimes add a smidge of laundry disinfectant to deter lurking bacteria. And I never ever use the tumble dryer.
The result is an incredible 58% reduction in my consumption of electricity compared to the same period last year.
As for saving water, don’t get me going. I no longer shower every day. Copying my dear old dad, if I’m not going out, I have an all-over wash in just two litres of scalding hot water from my new unit.
And imagine what one can save with, how shall I put it, judicious flushing. Or is that sharing too much information?
Ralph Oswick was artistic director of Natural Theatre for 45 years and is now an active patron of Bath Comedy Festival