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Recently we talked to Anikó Kocsis, managing director of the Eco-Region Foundation for Sustainable Development, about this issue. She is increasingly invited to provide ideas for a more environmentally-friendly lifestyle. And of course, a more economical one, as she recently presented in the closing meeting of the Social-cultural opportunities and labour market reintegration training course.

 

- If everybody saved one litre of water a day, our water demand would fall by 3.79 billion cubic metres, she says, a seemingly tangible but astonishing example, bringing the issue right into our very households.

 

Often they say that poor people are unable to save as they have no money to buy modern appliances; so, what can be done, we asked.

 

- Conscious purchasing protects our environment and our wallets – this is the solution, and here are a few ideas on what it actually means. We should start with a shopping list and we should resist temptation. Choose larger packaging, refills, and simpler, environmentally friendly products with recyclable packaging, recyclable bottles and products weighed at the counter instead of pre-packed ones. This is cheaper and generates much less waste.

 

- Every tonne of recycled paper saves a dozen of trees, not to mention that producing one kilogramme of paper requires 440 litres of water, to quantify the advantages.

 

We ourselves can decrease the growing mountains of plastic waste if we do not accept nylon bags and instead go shopping with our own bags. Choose wooden products instead of plastic. Avoid propellant gas products if pump or ball versions are available. Look for recycled paper products and use textiles instead of paper towels, sounds the advice.

 

These are all environmentally friendly but our wallets are mostly emptied by energy bills. 60 percent of household energy goes on heating, 16 percent on warm water and 8 percent on cooking. It is obvious where savings are possible and should be made. Naturally, there are other smaller tips besides the energy efficient solutions, solar collectors and similar appliances, additional insulation and replacing doors and windows. Some pieces of advice: don’t heat rooms where you are not spending any time, or the bedroom at night. Do not ventilate by just tipping the windows open because the heat leaves but the air is not replaced. Intensive short ventilation is best, which prevents the walls and furniture cooling down.

 

If possible, plant deciduous trees in front of the windows. They protect us from getting too warm in the summer but they let in the sunlight in the winter, when we should open the curtains. Evergreens should be planted in the north/north-west side of the house. Use draught blockers in doors and windows and insulate the bottoms of doors with felt or rubber strips. Curtains and blinds retain outgoing heat and we should insulate floors with felt and carpets. Dust from heaters should be collected and these should be maintained regularly; mount heat reflector sheets behind them.

 

Electricity bills can be cut by using energy efficient bulbs. Go for localised lighting instead of flooding the area in light. Lighter walls, clean windows and regularly cleaned lamps and bulbs can also improve lighting conditions. We should buy energy-efficient appliances but these also consume power while in standby, so don't forget this.

 

The biggest energy consumers are old fridges. We should purchase energy-efficient ones in line with the size of the family. Place them by the coldest wall of the kitchen or pantry. Take care not to overfill it and only place cold food in it. The appliance should be defrosted regularly, and make sure the ice does not grow thicker than 5 mm. Frozen meals should not be defrosted in microwave ovens but should be placed in the normal cooling area of the fridge in good time, letting them defrost there, because while it absorbs heat it saves additional energy.

 

Cool boxes and machines used to be very trendy. We should consider whether we really need them, or do they not cost more to maintain than what we hope to save by using them?

 

Use pressure cookers when cooking, this saves more energy. Metal pans are better heat conductors than glass and ceramics, and we shouldn’t cook without using lids as this can consume twice as much energy. Use appropriately sized pots where the flame does not extent past the edges. Gas cookers are more energy efficient than electric ones. When cooking in the oven we should take out unused grills and avoid opening the door when it is not necessary as this loses a lot of heat. Frozen meals should be defrosted before cooking. And it is not worth keeping a dishwasher for a family of less than four.