25/02/2005 - St David’s
Day on 1st March reminds us of the words
of Wales’s patron saint and his encouragement
to do the “little things.” We can all make
a difference to our environment by doing
the “little things” and changing the way
we live.
The United Nations is calling on people
all over the world to do just this in its
international campaign for World Environment
Day, which is celebrated on 5 June 2005
in more than 100 countries around the world.
In just one day throughout Wales we will:
produce almost 4,200 tonnes of household
waste.1
To help reduce this staggering figure, re-use
products wherever possible and recycle clothes,
paper, glass, and other household waste
such as green waste. Try to choose goods
made from or packaged in recycled materials
where possible, and re-use plastic bags
when shopping. If you throw out four fewer
bags per week, this will prevent 208 plastic
bags ending up in a landfill site per year,
where they would take many years to decompose.
Parents can also help too, by taking advantage
of the cotton nappies schemes in Wales.
By switching to cotton nappies, we can reduce
an estimated 200 million disposal nappies
going to landfill each year in Wales.2
use almost 450 million litres of water
in our homes3. That is enough to fill Cardiff’s
Millennium Stadium three times over4.
In Wales the average daily household water
use last year was approximately 150 litres
per person. It’s easy and simple to save
water in the home, for example, if you turn
the tap off when you clean your teeth, you
could save 30 litres of water a day. Taking
a shower rather than a bath can use a third
of the water needed for a bath saving up
to 45 litres a day- but watch out for power
showers, in five minutes these can use more
water than a bath. Fixing a dripping tap
can also save up to four litres a day. If
you have a water meter you could be saving
money as well.
The average household in Wales produces
six tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere
every year.
If you want to help reduce this figure,
invest in some energy efficient light bulbs.
If you replace two light bulbs in your house
with energy efficient versions, you will
reduce your contribution to air pollution
by the amount of carbon dioxide that 13
trees would otherwise have to absorb. Other
things you can do include, making sure all
electrical appliances are switched off rather
than left on standby, turning your thermostat
down by one degree, and hanging out your
washing when it's fine, rather than using
the tumble dryer.
Road traffic emissions are the main reason
for 92% of the designated air quality ‘hotspots’
in Wales.
The average car commuter drives 19 miles
a day. Cutting that by half through car
sharing would save 648kg of carbon dioxide
over one year, the same as that absorbed
by 216 trees.
If spring has put you in the mood for something
completely different, why not take part
in a green project in your community. Environment
Agency Action Earth campaign, coordinated
by Community Service Volunteers provides
grants of up to £50 to assist environmental
projects.
Fancy helping to clear a beach of plastic
wire and fishing weights that can cause
harm to wildlife? Helping to plant a community
garden or build nesting boxes for bats or
birds? Even setting up a community compost
bin? Individuals, groups and organisations
can apply for a grant, and even put in for
one of five prizes for the top projects
- worth £300 each. Could you be eligible
for the Animal Madness or Green Welly Award?
Or could your endeavour win the award for
the Wackiest Project?
We can all make small changes in our daily
lives - or muck in for an Action Earth project
so that we can, collectively, bring real
benefits to our environment. In the next
few weeks the Agency will be launching its
online World Environment Day pledge campaign.
You will then be able to log on and sign
up to one or more pledges and calculate
what difference your contribution will make.
As more and more people pledge, the campaign
site will display a running total of how
much water and energy will be saved, and
how much carbon dioxide emissions will be
reduced, by each person doing the little
things that can help to make the biggest
difference.
Further information on the Agency’s campaign
for World Environment Day and the Action
Earth campaign is available on this website.
From mid-March you will be able to sign-up
and pledge your support for World Environment
Day.
1 Figures are from the Municipal Waste
Management Survey 2003-04, Headline Statistics
(http://www.wales.gov.uk/keypubstatisticsforwales/content/publication/environment/2005/sb3-2005/sb3-2005.pdf).
Householders in Wales produced a total of
1,521million tonnes of household waste in
2003-04. 420 million tonnes of waste are
produced every year in the UK, Environment
Agency, 2004.
2 Sustainable Wales, Real Nappy Campaign
3 The average person in the UK uses 150
154 litres of water a day, Environment Agency,
2004. UK population 59,553,800, Wales population
2,938,000 (ONS mid-2003).
4 Millenium Stadium Construction Data and
Fact Sheet
