Tips for Carbon Reduction

The next and perhaps most important stage of the carbon footprinting process is to start making reductions! The 4Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Replace, are easy to apply. By following a few simple tips and aiming to continuously improve, you are sure to make a big impact on your wallet and our environment.   REDUCE Try to reduce your use of air-conditioners or heaters. Air-conditioners consume an extra 6% of electricity for every degree lower in temperature, Using a fan instead for 4 hours every day, you would reduce 1,130kg of carbon dioxide emissions per year and save money. Remember to switch off and unplug lights and other electrical appliances. Up to 10% percent of electricity used in homes is consumed by appliances left on standby, up to 100kg of CO2 per year. If you drive try to lower your speed and avoid excessive acceleration and deceleration. The more aggressively you drive the more fuel is consumed. Petrol vehicles emit 2.7kg CO2 per litre consumed. Turn off the tap when brushing your teeth. If you brush for 2 minutes and leave the tap on, you could use up to 10 litres of water each time, plus the electricity used in processing and pumping. Avoid travelling abroad by aeroplane as aeroplanes are the most polluting form of transport. A round-trip flight between Hong Kong and London produces 5.7 tons of CO per passenger.   REUSE Bring your own containers when purchasing takeaway food. Using your own spoons and chopsticks every day could avoid up to 3.5kg of carbon dioxide emissions per year. Reuse Cardboard Boxes and containers for storage. You can save almost 4 tons of CO2 for every ton of cardboard boxes kept from entering landfills. Reuse plastic bottles by filling them with water and placing them in the freezer. Once the water freezes the bottle can be reused as an ice pack. Plastic bottles can also be used for planting seedlings for your garden. Each ton of reused bottles can save up to 1.5 tons of CO2 emissions. Reuse wrapping paper. There are more than one million families in Hong Kong, each using millions of sheets of packaging paper each year, equivalent to thousands of felled trees.   RECYCLE Recycle paper after using both sides- For every ton of paper produced 24 trees are cut down. Recycle spent batteries at your local MTR station. Discarded batteries at landfills leak pollutants into the soil and underground water tables, making up to 600 tons of water undrinkable. Recycle unwanted household items by donating and trading them with your friends, relatives and local charities. Recycling a single t-shirt can save more than 6kg of carbon dioxide emissions, a mobile phone up to 50kg. Recycle newspaper or read the news online-For every 1 ton of newspaper recycled, 2.5 tons of carbon dioxide are avoided.   REPLACE Replace private transport such as cars and taxis with mass transport such as buses, minibuses, and MTR. You can reduce over 5 kg of CO2 emissions by taking public transport. Replace your incandescent light bulbs with long-life compact fluorescent (CFL) or LED bulbs. LEDs and CFLs last up to 15 times longer and use up to 80% less electricity. If you turn on 6 light bulbs for 6 hours every day, upgrading would avoid 552kg of your CO2 emissions every year. Replace use of drinks with disposable containers, with drinks held in reusable bottles. Tetra-pak boxes can't be recycled and their production emits large amounts of carbon dioxide. If you avoid a pack of drink every day, you would reduce nearly 7kg of carbon dioxide emissions per year. Take shorter showers to save water and electricity. If you reduce your shower time by 5 minutes every day you can reduce 8kg of carbon dioxide emissions per year. Dry your clothes outside rather than using a clothes dryer. Even energy efficient dryers can use up to 1.8kWh of electricity in a 1 hour cycle, equivalent to switching on 45 light bulbs for 1 hour. How many points have you got? How many more steps do you need to take to be a superhero of environmental protection? Please do not just stop here. Spread the message to your friends and relatives. Let them know about the problems our World is facing. With the dedication of all human beings, the World will be a better place to live for generations to come!