Marlborough Living Jan - Feb 2020

NEW YEAR
sustainable me
With the swirling pressure
of making New Year’s
resolutions, it can be
easy to get a little too
introspective - most of the
time, these resolutions
centre on self improvement
(or sometimes self
flagellation disguised as
self improvement!) but
what if this year, instead of
looking in, you looked out?
We are all aware of the impact, both
positive and negative, that we can have
on the environment - so this year, we
are investigating the ways we can be
more sustainable in our daily choices
and lifestyle. Information overload is a
real threat though, pushing those with
the best intentions into an environmental
existential spin - to keep it simple, we’ve
summed up a few small changes that
could have a big impact that are easy to
adopt into every day life.
Home Energy Saving
Our homes are big energy guzzlers.
Both the emissions made by our central
heating and the greenhouse gases
created in electricity production are huge
contributors to our carbon footprint.
But lots of changes can be made in
the home, which also have the added
benefit of being money savers too…
The UK’s leading price comparison
website, MoneySuperMarket, reveals
the costs and savings associated with
the most readily available renewable
energy sources and efficiencyimprovers
around the home.
Renewable energy, defined as an energy
source that is not depleted when used,
offers the greatest monthly savings
at £28.33 on average a month. On
the other hand, efficiency measures,
including energy-saving lightbulbs and
reduced-water showerheads, offer an
average of £6.92 in savings each month.
• Energy-saving light-bulbs: Changing
the light bulbs around your house to
energy-saving would cost you around
£51.80 which could result in a financial
saving of £27 a month. Generating
significantly less carbon dioxide whilst
last much longer than a traditional
lightbulb this investment would pay for
itself in a month.
• Cavity wall
insulation: With
an installation fee
of £466, you’ll begin to
see a return on your investment after
three years and seven months. Not
only does cavity wall reduce the cost
of your energy bill, it also keeps your
home warmer for longer and therefore
reducing your carbon footprint.
Other small changes include turning
power off at the switch, adding
insulation to windows, doors and the
loft, reduce the temperature of your
washing machine and fix broken/
leaking taps.
reduce single use plastic
Single use plastics contribute hugely
to landfill, but some products are hard
to replace, like the pods for coffee
machines. Capsulier is the World’s first
single-push, reusable, mess-free capsule
maker. Simply load roasted and ground
beans into the Capsulier Lite, close
the lid and push the lever. You’ll have a
unique capsule ready for use in seconds.
The best bit is you can completely tailor
the coffee flavour to your favourite
beans. £100, amazon.co.uk
Greener Cleaning
How often do we think of the chemicals
we are using in the home? And worse,
that end up in the water system.
Green cleaners have a bit of a bad
rep, but an amazing selection of
products from Microbz might provide
the answer - these clever cleaners are
probiotic and restore the balance of
positive microbes in your home, which
naturally protects against pathogens
- this means they continue to clean
the surface long after they’ve been
applied. The 250ml concentrate bottle
is extremely economical and makes 50,
Clockwise from left. Capsulier Lite,
£100, amazon.co.uk; Todds Coir
Scrubs, £5 for two, hauslife.co.uk;
Net Bag, £1.95, rexlondon.com;
500ml diluted spray bottles. See the
full range and find out more about the
science at microbz.co.uk
On the topic of cleaning, did you
know that every synthetic sponge you
use ends up in a landfill and takes
up to 52,000 years to decompose?
Enter another natural solution, Todd’s
coconut coir scrubs - these little natural
pads replace conventional scourers and
sponges and are 100% eco friendly,
100% bio-degradable, retain less water
and are more hygienic than synthetic
sponges - each one lasts 6-8 weeks
too, longer than conventional sponges.
Plus, they support local communities
in Sri Lanka where they are made.
hauslife.co.uk are the exclusive UK
stockists.
Quick Tips:
• Shop locally and support local farmers
where you can
• Reusable everything - use reusable
bags plus try to buy glass containers
that can be refilled
• Reduce household waste by using a
compost bin
• Unsubscribe to letters/catalogues you
don’t wish to receive
• Dry laundry on a line
• Use cloth instead of paper to clean
your kitchen
• Switch to cloth nappies – or at least
combine with disposables (even one
cloth nappy per day means 365 fewer
disposables in the landfill annually)
• Ditch cling film and plastic bags
for vegetables and use breathable,
reusable bags and beeswax food wraps
• Walk and cycle where you can. If you
use the car, try to reduce trips and
avoid aggressive driving
28 | www.marlboroughliving.co.uk