The CanCan group - updates and stories

This section gives a snapshot of some of the actions, discussions and activties of this group as they progress through the programme.

Session 4: Spend less, eat well

Some photos from this session are attached below, the words are to come...

Session 3: Spend less on water & Session 2: Spend less on energy

Here is some feedback about CanCan's third meeting on Water Usage/Savings-  plus, first, some other feedback re the Electricity/Gas session investigations:

Annie gave some info about investigating the  issue of when is it reasonable - carbon-wise - to buy a replacement domestic appliance:  on average it is 10 years for replacing a fridge or freezer - but should be longer in the case of a washing machine or cooker.

Annie also had info re a Guardian article about LED lights - including their use, alongside halogen bulbs, for dimmer switches.

Luce offers here some feedback on using a combi-boiler garnered from her gas engineer recently:   it's possible - and OK for the boiler's mechanisms - to set a notch-style 24hr timer to come on and go off every quarter of an hour (ie. one notch on, next notch off, and so on).  This halves the use of gas but keeps a steady heat going in the rooms. (However, it's probably a bit cheaper to have a lower setting on constantly than a higher setting on frequent on/off mode.)  It's not possible to adjust the water temperature on combi-boilers.

The water section of the TT file offers lots of 'areas' in bathroom / kitchen / garden for water saving devices and actions - so there was much to discuss on this Tuesday session.

Trudy, our host talked about the rain harvesting equipment that she and husband, Alan have purchased for their new home.  We also got to experience the aerated shower head that she has in her bathroom - an impressive projectile flow that can shoot outside of the glass door but should be curtailed within the reach of a shower curtain...

On loos we talked over the dirtier loo that isn't flushed so often - and the problem of 'floaters'...  Quite of few of us agreed on the idea of putting up a sign by our loo(s) for the information of visitors: ie. 'brown is down, but yellow is mellow'.  Many of us were already using a hippo or other CDD.

Re washing machines: much discourse on the effectiveness of eco balls; ie. not so hot on whites...  We talked about crystal (alum) deodorants being good for not staining clothes under the arms and for wearing less smelly clothes for longer!  Dave delighted us with - and is happy to share - his own recipe for a deodorant (tho' not the secret measures of each ingredient...): vodka plus tea tree oil for anti-odour/ bacteria with additional essential oil(s) of choice for pleasing aroma!

On drinking water:  Discussion included use of eco kettles which boil only one cup at a time - as oppose to one cup plus some more water to cover the filaments as a minimum on regular kettles.   We talked a lot on water to drink: from local bottled spring water to Brita style filters to (in the Bigger Picture discussion) cutting down on the global mania for bottled water - perhaps by taking our own tap water in a recycled bottle to bars and restaurants to demonstrate that option to others...  There was also mention of 'Filtrix' - charcoal filtering system for spring and muddy water.

Luce agreed to check out siphon pumps for getting grey bath/shower water out to the garden.  For those who haven't already checked out BigGreenSmile and SaveWaterSaveMoney websites (as in TT folder) the pump is available from both online 'stores' at £20.  The siphon pump has a 10' / 3.5 m long hose with an attachment at the end for fixing to the garden hose.  After a few pumps - on the gadgetry close to the bath water end - gravity gets the water out through a lower - or upper window, hopefully!

Those sites also sell aerated eco showerheads which many of us said we wanted to buy and use.  SWSM site stocks Mira variety (that has 3 spray options) at £5 cheaper than in B&Q!  (plus Mira gives £1 to WaterAid for every showerhead purchased).  However, BGS site (only selling single spray option showerheads) gives free delivery over £50 and the chance to give £s to carbon offset the delivery.  Tough choice. (Ed: also see free shower flow restricters on the Discounts page).

Embedded water consumption is a huge issue.  The 10 minutes we had left to discuss the Bigger Picture was not enough by a long chalk...

5. Wasting Away

 Clothing – we discussed the issue of buying cheap clothing from shops such as Primark, which is cheap for us, but the true costs are borne by others in the developing world.  Second hand clothing was seen as the best option, and the group agreed we should have a clothes swap meeting at the end of the programme. 

 It is better to recycle used clothes through charity shops, as Ebay and car boot sales are taking away an important source of income from charities such as Oxfam. Old textiles can be recycled for rags at Oxfam or the ragbank outside Morrisons to avoid them going into landfill.

 Electronic Gadgets – these often need to be bought new – aim to have as few as possible.  Can buy refilled printer cartridges from the industrial estate, but some of us had found them to be dodgy.

 Many of us were unaware of the energy use of the internet, in the form of huge warehouses with energy –intensive cooling for housing the servers that run the internet.  An idea for future discussion would be the usefulness of electronic media, such as the internet, Facebook etc.

 Household – Bristle brushes and dishcloths can be used for washing up, and loofahs for scourers to avoid plastic sponges. Re-useable items discussed were nappies, hankies, rechargeable batteries. 

 Items purchased new can offgas in the home, especially furnishing treated with toxic fire retardants and new electronic equipment.

 Possible to buy safe paints.  Home made toiletries can be bought at Friday market.  D can provide us with his homemade toothpaste recipe, and tea tree oil deodorant.

Pillows can easily be made using a pillow case filled with organic lambswool balls from Greenlife (the balls won’t compress in the same way as fleece), £28 a sack which will do a pillow and a cushion.  The pillowcase can then be hand sewn at one end. 

Composting waste – One of us recommended her bokashi composting method that uses a fermentation process, this can then be used to inoculate compost speeding up the composting process to a few weeks.  She will provide a demonstration some time!

Other composting tips – make the heap at least 1 metre square, cover it with cardboard, keep it moist, but stop it getting soggy by adding paper.

Shopping strategies – Wait 4 days before buying an item, you may well find you don’t need it.

Bargain buying – People looking to buy the cheapest, would inevitably be choosing low ethical options.  If you are not paying then assume someone else is paying, probably in the developing world.  Bargain air flights make it hard for people to resist flying. 

Presents – How to avoid unwanted presents – make a family rule of no presents for adults, give presents only to children, make a rule of homemade or edible pressies only.  New parents would always appreciate cooked food or offers to clean house rather than unnecessary gifts.  Great birthday present for parents is an offer to look after the children for the day.

Throwing parties  - Do pot luck events, everyone makes a dish, shares the work, but also removes the element of social pressure and competition.  Swap parties great idea.

Liberating ourselves from the consumer society -  We discussed the social pressure from family and friends to consume and conform.  How liberating to go into Totnes, enjoy a coffee or whatever and not feel compelled to go into a single shop.  We are probably living in the best ever time for living at low cost on the waste of the rest of our society.  Shopping, buying, taking care of possessions use up not just money but a lot of time. The need for less money allows us to work less and spend more time with family and friends and doing what we really want with our lives.   One of us related how that week she had met two elderly Buddhist monks in a lane walking down from Bristol with no money and no luggage, just big smiles!

Resources – website – How I lived on £1 a day

Positive News has an item on the Small House Society – an attempt to calculate what would be our fair share of living area taking a global average, given the energy homes use – it was small about the size of one large room per person.

 Favourite places to get second-hand stuff were Newton Abbot tip and TTT swaps at SPARC. 

Story of Stuff DVD – most of our group did not get to see this, but a screening is coming up in the Autumn TTT programme and it can be viewed on Youtube.