Tips on Living Sustainably
Check out our Eco-My-Flat booklet here (PDF 1.72MB) which provides useful and practical sustainable living tips for every room of the house!
Making sustainable living choices doesn't have to cost a lot or take up a lot of time. There are many things that you can start doing at home today to make steps towards living sustainably. Check out the tips below to begin living more sustainably:
> Energy
> Waste
> Transport
> Shopping
Energy
We all use energy in our flats: cooking dinner, having hot showers and keeping warm. But sometimes it’s a surprise when the power bill arrives – did we really use that much? To avoid shocker power bills and in-house battles, follow these simple tips:
Top Ten Flatting Energy Tips
- Install eco-bulbs and switch off lights when not in use.
- Use the sun—it’s free! Hang out your clothes instead of using the dryer… your clothes will last longer as well.
- Turn down the thermostat on your hot water cylinder to 60dg.
- Put another layer on then see if you still need the heater.
- Wash full loads of clothes in cold water
- Get some thick or thermal-backed curtains to stop the cold coming in your windows and the heat going out! If you have a Community Services Card you may be able to apply to get curtains for free - see Community Energy Action for more info.
- Stop air draughts under your doors. DIY: stuff a sock with newspaper and put it over the gap under your door.
- Unplug your cellphone charger once charged – the silly thing will keep using power otherwise!
- Turn off appliances when not using them—standby accounts for 5% energy use!
- Visit EnergyWise for more tips.
Know How Much it Costs
- Over 40 cents per hour:
Electric heaters (2400W) - Over 35 cents per hour:
Electric heaters (2000W),
Washing machine (warm wash) - Over 30 cents per hour:
Conventional oven, clothes dryer, dishwasher, hair dryer - 30 cents per hour:
Iron, oil-filled heater (1500W) - 10-25 cents per hour:
Heater (1000W), electric frying pan, vacuum cleaner, microwave, medium fridge/freezer, heat pump (2400W) - 3-10 cents per hour:
Double electric blanket, washing machine (cold wash) - Under 3 cents per hour:
Video, stereo, computer, television, printer, sewing machine, heated towel rail, ceiling fan, lights
Estimates from Meridian Energy.
How Your Landlord Can Help
Insulation: Ask your landlord to apply for an EECA grant to install insulation. 42% of heat is lost through the roof. Insulation helps keep heat in, so you don’t have to keep your heater running all night with heat constantly escaping!
Clean Heat: There are more cost/energy efficient, environmentally friendly ways to heat your flat, like heat pumps.
Hot water cylinder insulation wrap: This will stop heat escaping from your hot water cylinder. If the outside of you cylinder feels hot, you are losing hear (and $$!)
How to approach your landlord
Email or call to arrange a meeting. Explain that your health is affected by your living conditions and mention the subsidies available to improve them.
Waste
We all create waste. Some of us create more than others, but is this really something we have no control over? There are lots of things we can do to reduce the amount of waste that we create...
Why tolerate such rubbish?
On average, each Christchurch resident uses 67 reams of paper each year.
- Print double sided or 2 pages to a sheet, or reuse paper that’s only been printed on one side.
Organic matter, such as leaves, twigs and food scraps make up the largest part of the rubbish dumped in our landfill (around 65,000 tonnes each year). In the landfill organics breakdown without air to produces greenhouse gases that add to global warming and leachate, a harmful liquid that can contaminate soil and water. However, if organics are kept separate from household rubbish, they can be turned into something useful – compost.
Dealing with your rubbish
We’ve all heard of the Waste Minimisation hierarchy—reduce, reuse, recycle—but how many of us actually think of waste in those terms? The best thing we can do is to reduce our waste, then reuse, and finally recycle.
Reduce
There are lots of simple ways we can cut down our ecological footprint simply by thinking carefully about the things we consume.
Reducing, though it can be the most difficult, is the most effective way to minimize waste.
Some of the easiest ways to reduce your waste are by cooking your meals at home if you are prone to takeaways, by thinking carefully about what you buy—do you need it? Can you get it with less packaging?
Reuse
Reusing can also be a simple way to cut down your waste.
Get creative with your junk. Use an old cupboard or washing machine to plant seedlings in or grab a stack of used paper that’s only been printed on one side and make a note book out of it by drilling some holes and tying it together with string.
Choose reusable containers and products over disposable ones.
You could even just donate your unwanted stuff to the Supershed, by taking it to one of Christchurch’s eco-depots, so that somebody else can reuse it instead!
Recycle
Recycling has become pretty easy these days. We have a good curbside recycling system set up.
But make sure you know what can and cant go into the bin before you put it out. If you’re unsure see the Christchurch City Council website for more information.
For information on waste reduction and recycling on campus, see the Recycling and Waste Minimisation pages.
Waste Not Want Not!
One person's trash is another person's treasure!
Don’t know where to get rid of your rubbish? Here are just a few ways to make your waste less wasteful:
- Take to your nearest eco-depot - and they’ll recycle and resell what they can.
- The ecodepots are located in the following 3 locations:
- 40 Metro Place, Bromley (access is off Dyers Road near the oxidation ponds)
- 21 Parkhouse Road (off Curletts Road), Wigram
- 12 Styx Mill Road, Redwood (off Main North Road after Styx overbridge)
- Sell it on TradeMe
- Have a Garage Sale, or a clothes swap with friends
- If you’re feeling generous, give to one of these (or another!) charity... at least you know it will be appreciated:
- Salvation Army
- Red Cross
- Cholmondeley Children’s Home
- City Mission
Transport 
We all move around - work, study, play. But how much of that movement do we need to spend shut up in a car, stuck in traffic, trying to find a parking space? If you’re a student and living close to University then it is often quicker to cycle! Or hop on a bus and enjoy the hassle free time to catch up on your lecture notes...
Top Transport Tips for Flatters
Bus: Christchurch is pretty well equipped when it comes to buses so find out what bus runs near your place, grab a timetable and enjoy the time to read and relax. If you live further away then bussing can be a much cheaper option than driving.
Cycle: biking is a great way to exercise, commute and save money! You can ride right up to your destination and park right outside– no more parking fines and traffic jams! In fact you can whiz right down the middle of all that rush hour traffic.
Carpool: When you’re all going to the same place (like Uni) then why spend all that money on petrol and parking? The University has a rideshare programme in place to reward carpoolers with the best parking spots on campus.
Walk: Live close to Uni? Or close enough? Then why not walk. It’s exercise but not strenuous exercise– just an easy way to get to class in the morning free of charge.
Roadtrip: Missing home? If home or friends are far away think about getting some friends together and taking a road trip to get there! It will be a lot more sociable then flying and create much less harmful emissions. If you do have to fly why not offset your emissions?
Cycle Safety
- Keep your bike in good condition. Check tyres, wheels, brakes, handlebars, seat, chain and gears on a regular basis
- Be visible. Wearing bright colored clothing and using lights and reflectors make it easier for other people to see you.
- Helmets are required by law so always wear a properly fitting helmet. Your helmet should be comfortable and feature a hard shell and foam liner. Replace knocked or dropped helmets.
- Ride at least a metre away from parked cars and be aware of car doors opening.
- Be predictable. Try to ride in a smooth line and make no sudden moves. You can practice your bike skills away from traffic.
- Increase distance gradually. Sore and tired muscles means you are building up too fast. Start with 3-4 short rides a week.
- Occupy the centre of the traffic lane when the road width requires it, or when you need to position yourself for a turn.
- Know and follow the traffic rules. Have fun, stay fit and be green!
For more useful information on sustainable transport, check out the Transport Pages.
Shopping 
We all eat. We all like things to taste good. But sometimes flatting and eating healthy don't seem to go together so well. Read these tips to help overcome this!
Top Ten Eating and Shopping Tips for Flatters
- Plant a garden! Gardening is a really cheap way to feed yourself. Vegetables like silver beet and pumpkins are simple to maintain & perfect for flatters' lifestyles.
- Host a Garden Bee: if you have never gardened before, get hold of some willing volunteers and get digging. Many hands make light work!
- Support Fair Trade: not only does fair trade help the producers but it tastes better! There are lots of Fair Trade products available so shop around for a good deal.
- Get food with personality- Go Local! Local produce, or stuff from your own garden often has a lot more personality and flavour.
- Grab an Eco-Bag: using your own bags at the supermarket or when you’re out saves those plastic pile ups at home.
- Cooking extra: for dinner and taking it for lunch the next day is a great way to save on money & ensure you’re well.
- Use what you have around you: plenty of people have excess fruit and vegetables that go uneaten that they would be happy for you to clear up for them
- Have a Pot-Luck! Pot-lucks are a great way to socialize and pig out on masses of food.
- Op-Shop: There are heaps of second hand stores in Christchurch offering an exciting range of stuff – clothes, furniture, appliances.
- Bulk Buy: buying things in large quantities is a great way to make sure you always have food at your flat and it cuts down on packaging.
For more Sustainable Living tips the internet is home to hundreds of dedicated pages on sustainable living and lifestyles. Click here for some of the best internet resources we have found on topics relating to sustainability.