Living sustainably in the Flemington estate

Living sustainably in the
Flemington estate
Things you can do to make your home green
Easy changes you can do
yourself for free
Energy saving
• Try to use your car less, or share car
rides with neighbours.
• Turn off appliances at the power point
when not in use.
at 24-27 degrees (the cooler the airconditioning, the more energy you are
using).
• Close doors to keep heat just in the
rooms which are being used.
• Use cold water to rinse dishes.
• Wash clothes in cold water.
• Check the temperature of your fridge. It
should be at 3-5 degrees for the fridge
and -15 degrees for the freezer.
• Avoid using an electric clothes dryer.
Where possible, dry your clothes on a
washing line or clothes rack.
• Heat yourself first – not the room.
Dress warmly, and if you use a portable
heater, sit near it to avoid wasting heat.
• Open windows and doors to cool your
apartment at the end of the day.
• Keep your winter heating thermostat
at 19-21 degrees (the hotter the
temperature, the more energy you are
using).
• Keep your summer cooling thermostat
• Where possible, shade windows in
summer to keep rooms cool and avoid
using air-conditioning.
• Use a portable fan or ceiling fan before
using an air-conditioner (fans use less
energy).
Water saving
• Take shorter showers. Use a shower
timer and aim for a four minute shower.
• If you don’t have a toilet with a full flush
and a half flush button, put a plastic
water bottle in the cistern to reduce the
amount of water it uses when you flush.
• Only use the washing machine when
you have a full load (you waste water if
you only wash a few items each time).
• Turn off the tap when brushing your
teeth.
• Collect water from your shower and reuse it on your garden, potted plants or
to flush the toilet.
Changes you can make yourself with
permission
First visit your local housing office and fill out an “External
Works” form. You will need to pay for the changes yourself
and change things back when you leave.
• Put tap aerators on your taps. These screw onto the end
of your taps and reduce the flow while still feeling like
plenty of water.
• Install a flow restrictor on your showerhead. This is a
small plastic disc which you put inside the join where the
shower meets the wall. However they wont work if you
live in the top floors of the high rises.
• Install draught proofing strips around doors and windows,
to stop cold air from getting in.
Avoiding waste
• Recycle plastic, glass bottles and jars, aluminium and
steel cans, and all plastics (except plastic bags and
polystyrene) when you are outside the Flemington Estate.
There is no recycling service on most of the estate.
Consider collecting recyclable items on the estate and
taking them to recycling bins elsewhere.
You can buy each of these items for less than $10 from
hardware stores.
Maintenance the Office of Housing will do for
you if you ask
• Avoid buying products with lots of packaging.
Call the Maintenance Call Centre on 13 11 72. They should:
• Bring your own shopping bag to the shops and say no to
disposable plastic bags.
• Fix all dripping taps and toilets within 24 hours. Check
your toilet for leaks and report it.
• Rent, hire or share products rather than buying new
products (e.g. books at library, films at video shop, share
tools with neighbours).
• Fix broken appliances. If they need replacing, ask for an
energy and water efficient model.
Changes you can make cheaply
Upgrades the Office of Housing is doing,
without you having to ask
Energy saving
The Office of Housing is making the following changes to
high rises on the estate. Ask your local housing office about
how long you can expect to wait.
• Use a door snake (a long thin cushion which stops
draughts coming in under your door).
• Replace your light globes with low energy light globes
and with less powerful globes (hint: use a lamp).
• Sign up to GreenPower. Ask your energy retailer – and
aim for the highest percentage, even 100% GreenPower.
It will cost more, but you can save energy elsewhere and
reduce your energy bills.
• Some appliances come with a star rating label for energy
efficiency. If you are buying a new appliance, choose one
with lots of stars on the label, as it will waste less energy
than one with only a few stars.
Water saving
• If you live in an upgraded flat, and are buying a new
washing machine, choose a front loading one (one with a
door on the front instead of on the top of the machine).
You can buy these cheaply from the Brotherhood of St
Laurence (Brunswick Community Store, 132 Barkly St
Brunswick, phone 9387 9519).
• Installing draught seals on your doors.
• Replacing toilets which just have one flush button with
ones which have a half flush button and a full flush
button.
• Installing pelmets on curtains (boxes which sit over the
curtain rod and stop heat escaping out the window).
• Installing solid blinds, to stop heat escaping out the
window.
• Making windows more sound proof (which will also
make them better at keeping heat in in winter and out in
summer).
How to contact the Office of Housing
Call your local housing office on 9371 6200. To request
maintenance assistance, phone the Maintenance Call Centre
on 13 11 72.
Avoiding waste
• Choose products which are better for the environment,
such as washing detergent without chemicals and with
recyclable packaging.
English Flemington public housing
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