Wollondilly Shire Council

We found 512 search results

• Harvest and use your rainwater

  Install a rainwater tank to collect and store rain hitting your roof and use it to water your garden, wash your clothes or fill your toilet.
  
  By capturing and using the rain that falls on our houses - water that currently flows into the stormwater drain - we are taking another step in increasing our water efficiency and conserving this precious resource. Have a plumber redirect your down pipes into a tank for storage and install pumps and pipes to service some of your household water needs. By t…

  Read more about "Harvest and use your rainwater"...

• Install efficient appliances and fixtures

  When investing in large household appliances and fixtures, use the government's Energy and Water Ratings (stars) to guide you to the most efficient products to save money.
  
  The cost of energy and water is rising and the effect is increasing. Large household appliances (including fridges, clothes dryers and dishwashing machines) and toilets, taps and showers consume the bulk of our household energy and water.
  
  The Federal Government's Water Rating site notes that replacing a single-flus…

  Read more about "Install efficient appliances and fixtures"...

• Install solar hot water

   Sunlight converts cold water into hot water. No gases are emitted and no one gets hurt. Life is rarely this simple!
  
  The cost of energy is rising and the effect of pollution increasing. Water heating accounts for approximately 30 per cent of an average household's total greenhouse gas emissions and about the same proportion of total household energy use. Visit Climate Change for more information.
  
  Solar hot water systems are highly efficient in their use of solar energy (sunlight) to heat…

  Read more about "Install solar hot water"...

• Insulate, shade and weather proof your house

  Insulating, shading and weatherproofing your house can save you up to 45 per cent on your current energy bills while increasing the comfort and value of your home.
  
  Minimising the need to heat and cool your home from the extremes of our summer and winter weather will also reduce your household's contribution to global warming.
  
  Strategically placed trees that provide shade to your house in summer will cut electricity use, saving you hundreds of dollars over the life of your home. Similarly,…

  Read more about "Insulate, shade and weather proof your house"...

• Make your renovations green

  Renovations are the ideal opportunity to make your house more efficient and sustainable. Try these tips and feel good about your home.
  
  From the design through to the construction of your renovation, opportunities exist to lighten your environmental footprint. These changes can range from short-term aspects (e.g. safely managing and recycling building waste) to long-term improvements in the energy efficiency of your home.
  
  If you're renovating, explore good design: it can save energy, water…

  Read more about "Make your renovations green"...

• Reduce your stormwater pollution

  By managing your domestic stormwater, you can reduce polluting the waterways we love to swim in, fish and simply enjoy.
  
  The catchment area of our local rivers and waterways includes our houses, gardens, driveways and lawns. The stormwater system uses the gutters, drains, pipes and rivers to quickly remove water from residential and business areas so as to avoid flooding and the resultant damage this incurs.
  
  When the stormwater system is in use (i.e. during a storm), any litter, debris and othe…

  Read more about "Reduce your stormwater pollution"...

• Reuse your greywater

  Reusing greywater to water lawns and gardens could save up to 50,000 litres of drinking water per home each year.
  
  Greywater is recycled water from domestic use in the home. It includes water from baths, showers, hand basins and washing machines and can be used on the garden or treated and reused in your washing machine, toilet or garden. Greywater from the kitchen (including dishwashers) should not be used because the concentration of food wastes and soil organisms do not readily break down che…

  Read more about "Reuse your greywater"...

• Use water efficiently

  Water conservation on the driest continent on the planet is essential, logical and too long in coming. There are lots of easy things we can all do!
  
  Fresh water is embedded in most of the things we consume, from the meat we eat (41,500 litres to produce a kilo of meat) to the aluminium we carry our drinks in (20 litres for a single can). While the water we use in the home may seem trivial (only 7 per cent of all water used in Australia), its conservation is a step toward increasing our knowledge…

  Read more about "Use water efficiently"...

• Food and Drink

  The food and drink we consume influences how it is produced and to a certain degree it's quality.
  If eating healthy local produce is important, then how can we as consumers, encourage more sustainable production, manufacturing and distribution?
  
  Food and Drink Actions 
  
  Eat organic food
  Too many pesticides, herbicides and fungicides
  in your food? Try eating organic.
  
  Eat less meat
  Replace at least one meat meal per week with a vegetarian option. Land used for beans and vegetables produces…

  Read more about "Food and Drink"...

• Eat Organic Food

  Too many pesticides, herbicides and fungicides in your food? Try eating organic.
  
  Organic food certification requires that crops and livestock are grown and reared naturally, without artificial fertilisers, synthetic pesticides, chemical feeds, growth-promotion drugs or routine antibiotics. As a result, organic produce is chemical-free, often higher in the nutrients and minerals our bodies require, and most importantly, it can taste better. Also, meat derived from free-range and organic farms co…

  Read more about "Eat Organic Food"...

• Eat Less Meat

  Replace at least one meat meal per week with a vegetarian option. Land used for beans and vegetables produces 10 times as much protein as land used for raising beef.
  
  Meat is the sleeping giant of a sustainable lifestyle. The Australian National Dietary Guidelines (published by the Federal Government's National Health and Medical Research Council) recommends one to one-and-a-half serves of meat, fish, poultry or meat alternatives each day. A serve constitutes 65-100g of cooked meat. Therefo…

  Read more about "Eat Less Meat"...

• Avoid Genetically Modified (GM) Food

  Avoid eating Genetically Modified (GM) Food and demand more thorough testing and mandatory labelling of genetic crops and foods.
  
  Scientists are altering and augmenting the genetic make up of our food crops to increase crop yields by making the plants pest resistant, herbicide tolerant, disease resistant, cold, drought, salinity tolerant, etc and to improve the nutrition of the crop and/or to provide pharmaceutical properties via the crop to the end consumer. These crops are producing what is no…

  Read more about "Avoid Genetically Modified (GM) Food"...

• Avoid Bottled Water

  The Story of Bottled Water
  
  
  
  Avoid bottled water and feel good knowing that you’re saving money, reducing your personal health risks and reducing resource waste in your community.
  
  Humans require plenty of of drinking water each day to keep our bodies hydrated and with our increasingly busy lifestyles, more and more people are purchasing bottled water. In 2009-10 approximately 582.9 million litres of bottled water was consumed (IBISWorld Bottled Water Manufacturing in Australia, January 201…

  Read more about "Avoid Bottled Water"...

• Reduce Dairy in Your Diet

  Bovine breast milk goes great with your cereal, but its production contributes 4 per cent to global greenhouse gas emissions. Halve your dairy consumption, explore the alternatives and help the environment.
  
  The main benefit in reducing the amount of dairy in your diet and shifting to non-dairy alternatives (for example soya) may not be to save money, but rather your wellbeing and impact on the environment.
  
  The environmental impact of shifting half your dairy consumption to non-dairy alternativ…

  Read more about "Reduce Dairy in Your Diet"...

• Avoid Eating Endangered Fish

  Avoid eating over-fished and threatened fish species.
  
  Increasing our awareness of which fish are being harvested to the brink of extinction, can help us modify our fish eating and buying habits and cease plundering an invisible ecosystem that is in a state of stress and serious decline. Becoming aware of the impact of caged fisheries on our estuaries, bays, oceans, pond systems and wetlands will help us make informed choices next time we are at the fishmongers.
  
  How to do it now!
  Eat sustainabl…

  Read more about "Avoid Eating Endangered Fish"...