Comments on: 25 Tips to Make Your Apartment an Eco Friendly, Sustainable, Green Paradise!

By: David

David — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 00:31:57 +0000

rather than a kitchen bokashi or whatever that enzyme bin thing is that costs money to use, you can register with Sydney Council workshop they have at Alexandria for a 2 hour training session in worm farms whereafter they give you a worm farm (retail I dunno $30-60?)! Black plastic stackable boxes / mesh / drain. You only need to buy your first starter can of worms from Bunnings or such.

We have had it on the balcony for the last 6 months or so, churning out loads of giveaway worm wee to friends (fun because the dark colour in a plastic Coke bottle looks like Coke – ‘tempted to drink it!?’), all our non-meat/dairy/citrus food waste goes into it and comes out as wonderful liquid fertilizer ! No disturbing smell, on the balcony, and the sun hasn’t killed the worms as it’s a little shaded.

Recommended.

By: Carra

Carra — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 06:04:47 +0000

Recycle your used cat litter when you clean out the litter box by putting it in the bottom of plant containers to aid in drainage and get the added benefit of natural fertiliser. Incorrect. Cat’s poo has acid in it and kills most of the plants. Love the other tips though.

By: Greg

Greg — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 16:04:55 +0000

With regards to number 6 and saving water through installing faucet aerators keep in mind there are various types of water saving faucet aerators. All aerators are measured by the gallons per minute that they let flow. Typical low flow aerators are around 2.5 gallons per minute, however there are aerators that go as low as .5 gallons per minute. They all cost relatively the same (a few dollars) and install the same way. Check out your local hardware store as they should carry all types of aerators.

By: Assaf

Assaf — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 01:13:04 +0000

#12: Using candles is a terrible suggestion.

Any insurance company could calculate the number of homes that would likely burn down if this idea were adopted. The environmental footprint of burnt houses and building new ones would be huge.

However, more to the point – it wouldn’t even be eco friendly in itself ignoring burnt houses.
Assuming an average candle has a mass of about 50gr (2oz) it is a good guess that this represents roughly 1,882,000 joules of chemical energy (~9 Kcal/gr). This amount of energy would power a small 4w compact fluorescent bulb for 131 hours – much longer than the candle would burn and providing more light.

Candles simply produce more heat than light.

Even if you assume only a 20% efficiency for producing electricity at a plant and transmitting it to your home, the compact fluorescent is still over an order of magnitude more efficient than the candle.

If you follow suggestion #3 and convert to a green power supplier then any electric bulb you use (even an incandescent) has a zero carbon footprint – making it infinitely better than a candle.

P.S
You should point out using bamboo for flooring and clothing, it is significantly more renewable and less demanding of the environment than wood and cotton.