Useful Eco gestures in the framework of Erasmus +

In view of the seminar “let’s change our behaviour, not the climate”, here is a selection of the recommendations on looking at our practical behaviour with the environment in the framework of the Erasmus + programmes.

Indeed we know about the necessity of being attentive to the gestures of preserving our natural resources in our daily lives and should be worried about the influences on the small actions realized on an individual level. There is an extract with good practices which could be concluded as maxims of “the necessaries”. These individual practices could be widened to be appropriated in view of Erasmus+.

 

Concerning consumption:

  • favor the consumption of local and seasonal products and if possible issued from organic agriculture
  • lower the consumption of meat and intend to eat vegetarian menus at least once a day for everyone
  • refer to or reuse your pedagogical material from former projects

  • limit the consumption of paper: print two-sided, put two pages on one paper and / or use draft paper
  • use reusable products for your meals and daily habits: e.g.  Eco cups and cotton bags

 

 

 

                                                    On your behalf, and to go further, it is also possible to :

  • use natural products in your accomodation and clothing

  • recover vegetables from supermarkets
  • offer seeds or plants rather than flowers
  • have a vegetable garden at your place or install a flower box at the cornice of your windows or balconies
  • give things you don’t need anymore to someone else

 

 

 

On your behalf, reduce the consumption of water

  • prefer taking a shower than taking a bath. A shower should be fast to really generate a saving (a normal shower needs 15 to 20 liters in a minute. One minute less of showering per person economises 20×365=7300 liters yearly per person!), a bath needs about 150 liters of flowing water 
  • recover rain water for watering plants, flush the toilet, etc
  • pee in the shower, it economises 7 liters water!
  • install flow regulators in water taps and knobs in the shower for reducing the flow
  • close the water taps while brushing your teeth; 3 minutes of water flowing are 40 liters of waste
  • use the dish washer: a new dish washer uses 20 liters of water, when washing by hand it takes 50 liters (for 4 persons)

Remarkable is that only 7% of the daily used water in the households is not used for food or drinking, all the rest is lastly used for cleaning.

 

 

 

Regarding energy

  • turn off the screens, the light; an old television screen takes 30% more than a usual consumption; for a computer screen it is 15%
  • program old screens so that they go to standby after 2 minutes of not being used
  • unplug electronical devices if they are not used (connector); so there will be 30% of the consumption economised
  • use the stairs instead of using the elevator; it tones your buttocks!

 

 

                                                                         Waste

  • separate the waste
  • compost fermentable materials; on average it is 70% of our waste!
  • use dry toilets
  • use reusable / washable materials: cotton, napkins, tissues
  • don’t throw cigars on the floor. One cigar impurifies up to 500 liters of water if it is thrown in a gully
  • bring specific waste like batteries household electrical appliances to a buyback centre

 

 

 

                                                       Spread less of CO2

  • hitchhike or carpool : it fills the cars – use the public transport: one bus replaces on average 400 cars
  • use sites like couch surfing or Airbnb to avoid hotels which consumes a lot.

 

 

 

 

                                              Flat: to place emphasis to the future

  • invest into an ecological / bioclimatic/ positive energy houses
  • invest in solar panels and / or photovoltaics
  • install wind wheels

 

 

 

New technology

  • sort your e-mails: 30 e-mails are saved on one server, it’s the same energy as a bulb burning for 24 hours. So erase the old messages in the in-box and in the out-box!
  • don’t post to much data on the internet and on social networks; it weighs down the servers!
  • support the biodiversity on installing domestic and honey plants, build insect houses, bird or bat shelters! These animals will take care of your garden!

 

 

Share your experience with related parties : give ideas to others, economise money; talk about difficulties, give advices , get to know these experiences and convince related parties.