Here are some questions from participants in the Sustainable Living at Home (SLAH) program.  Please let us know if you've got a question we can answer for you!  If you want to know something, then email your question to SLAH and we'll do our best to have an answer ASAP.

Don't forget that you can also load up your own stories and discussion topics at the Green Cow Solutions site:  http://www.flickr.com/groups/greencowsolutions/

Q. I live on a busy traffic street with trucks using a 15 minute loading zone outside my window.
How can I get trucks and cars to not idle when they in this loading zone?
A:

Unfortunately, our Council Traffic people say they are not aware of any rules requesting trucks to stop their engines while loading/unloading. Some companies may have their own requirements to respect residential areas, but these are hard to enforce. It might be up to individual buildings where goods are delivered to have a sign up, e.g. "Please turn off your engine while delivering - Thank you."

Q. What are the benefits of joining Bicycle Victoria?
A:

We suggest you go straight to the source at www.bv.com.au or contact them on 8636 8888

From their website, we found that one big benefit is BV Member Insurance, which covers members when riding a bike and

• Are injured
• Injure someone else*
• Damage someone else's property*
• Travel Insurance for Great Rides*
• Public Liability

Q. Why are electric cars put forward as the answer to the car problem? Don't we use coal as fuel to generate electricity?
A:

You are right that if all electric cars ran on coal-fired power, we would only be adding to our greenhouse emissions. Hybrid cars use a battery to provide the electrical power, combined with a petrol engine. But even batteries produce some emissions in their manufacture, not to mention some nasty chemical to dispose of.

Some electric cars can be plugged in overnight and charged from renewable sources. Imagine if you have GreenPower in your home sourced from a wind farm or solar plant. You can then charge the battery of an electric vehicle with very low greenhouse emissions. The rechargeable car might be just around the corner, but we will also need enough renewable energy to charge them.

Q. Are there any problems in disposal of compact fluorescent globes?
A:

Compact fluorescent globes contain metals like mercury which is not good for the environment. More importantly, mercury is a readily reusable product and can be recycled, along with the other valuable materials in globes like ceramic glass, aluminium, and phosphorus, most of which can be reused to make other products.

To date, facilities to recycle CFLs have not been readily available in Victoria. However, Sustainability Victoria and Lighting Council Australia have recently trialed a program called Flashback. The recovered materials including mercury, aluminium, glass and phosphor are sold off for reuse.

The Flashback pilot program is running for approximately four months from 4th June 2008. Flashback is collecting all household mercury containing globes, including spiral and linear compact fluorescent (CFL) plug in type CFL, linear fluorescent T2 T4 T5 T8 T12 Circular and U-shaped. All filament type incandescent bulbs are also accepted.

The only location in Melbourne for the pilot is at at Beacon Lighting, 4 Dora Street, in Heidelberg. You can take your unwanted light globes and drop them into the specially designed Flashback boxes.

Flashback is a free service available to Victorian householders only. The service is not open to commercial businesses or operators. All globes from light fittings and place only the globe in the collection bin.

See http://www.resourcesmart.vic.gov.au/for_households_3324.html for more information or call the Sustainability Victoria Infoline (Victoria only) on 1300 363 744.

Another solution is to buy CFLs and fluorescent tubes with a long life-span. This will delay the effort to dispose of them until we have more facilities like Flashback.

City of Port Phillip is also currently trialling a small unit for correct disposal and recycling of fluroescent tubes. Our Waste Education Officer, Nic Dunstan will explain more about this at SLAH Waste Wise!

Q. Does energy rating take into account the “life span” of the appliance?
A:

Energy rating labels help you to compare the running costs and energy efficiency levels of different models of appliances. By selecting the most energy efficient appliance you can reduce energy use and costs.

Each Energy Rating label features a red box with an energy consumption figure indicating how much gas or electricity the appliance will use over a period of time (usually 12 months). If two appliances have the same star rating, choose the one with the lower energy consumption.

The ratings DO NOT display information on the life span of the appliance. However, they do take into account typical use in their calculations. For example, with dishwashers and clothes washers, the rating assumes 365 cycles per year.

See: http://www.energyrating.gov.au/star.html

http://www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/www/html/1978-energy-rating-labels.asp

Q. Why is double glazing of windows so expensive?
A:

Yes, double glazing is still relatively expensive but the cost is coming down as more people demand it, as with any product. The Home Energy Ratings regulations have also meant that many new homes use double glazing to achieve a prescribed star rating. It is one on the best ways to make your home energy efficient.

As stated in a report prepared for the Australian Glass and Glazing Association (AGGA) by building energy consultant Dr Peter Lyons, from Peter Lyons and Associates, an average Melbourne single-storey house fitted with double glazed, argon-filled, Low-E [high solar transmittance], timber-framed windows will achieve a rating of approximately 2.5 Stars higher than the same building with single-paned, aluminium-framed fittings

Behind these Star upgrades are some very important cost savings and significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. The installation of high quality double glazing will reduce annual CO2 emissions by 2.7 tonnes in a medium-sized home, 3.9 tonnes in a large home, and 1.5 tonnes in a townhouse.

Associated annual cost savings for heating/cooling appliances (assuming electricity tariffs of $0.10/kWh), are $196 for a medium-sized home, $284 for a large home and $107 for a townhouse.

From: http://www.agga.org.au/~aggaorg/images/downloads/Architectural%20Review%20article.pdf

Or, you might look to look at a cheaper more temporary option which is almost as effective - Clear Comfort glazing.

Q. Where can you buy Clear Comfort?
A:

Clear Comfort double glazing product is locally available from the EcoCentre in the St. Kilda Botanical Gardens.

Visit the EcoCentre to see the installed product and buy a kit for your home. A Clear Comfort MiniKit for 1 window costs $19.30 and $180 for a Superkit to do an average sized house.

Go to http://www.ecocentre.com/ and scroll down the page for more information.

Q. I want to know what we can say to cynics who claim that all recycling ends up at as landfill anyway?
A:

These cynics are wrong in the case of Port Phillip. All Port Phillip recyclables are transported to the SKM sorting plant, sorted and sent to value adding processes for renewed products or traded overseas. We regularly audit the process with visits to SKM and watch our materials arrive and get processed. There have been past occasions with some other Councils where the degree of contamination has rendered the collected materials unusable and they have been sent to a landfill.

While we can't speak on behalf of other regions, this has never happened with Port Phillip materials.

Q. I want to know whether i should get a compost bin or a worm farm. What is the difference?
A:

The major considerations are space and effort. Worm farms are quite neat and easy to use these days, especially in small spaces. Compost bins can handle greater volumes, however need a garden space to be set up and require more manual labour.

The worms in a small wormery should eat all the fruit and vegetable waste produced by a household of four. Wormeries are ideal for people living in flats or houses with small backyards - places where garden space isn't readily available.

Worm farms are also good if you're after the rich liquid fertiliser they produce, ideal for pot plants.

I think if you're going to be using a compost bin because you have green waste, thats the best choice, as worm farms aren't able to deal with huge volumes early on. Best for food scraps to begin with and then further down the track as your worm population increases, small amounts of green waste, paper etc.

Q. I want to know whether if I cut my worms in half, does it mean i get two worms.

A.

Please don't cut the little creatures in half to see if they grow into two worms. They don't. You'll just kill it.
Worms are delicate animals and need to be treated with care. If a tiny part of a worm is cut off (like the tail end), it can heal and eventually grow back. This is called regeneration.
The best way to get more worms is to give them a little bit of TLC (Tender Loving Care). Before you know it, you will have more than enough worms.

Q. I want to know how much will my worms eat?

A.

It is said that worms will process half their own weight each day. Thus, 1kg of worms will process 1/2kg of waste per day.

However, this amount relates to conditions the worm bin is exposed to. For instance, in cooler weather, if the bins are outdoors, the processing rate can be slower. The amount of airflow in the bin is another factor that is important. It is best to get a 'feel' for your own worm bin. Watch the food you put in, and when it has nearly gone, you can put more in. The feeding rate is improved if vegetable stalks etc. are chopped up into smaller pieces. Over time, the feeding rate will become faster as your worm population increases.

Use eServices to ask us a question, request information or give us feedback about SLAH online. If you prefer call ASSIST on (03) 9209 6777 or TTy (03) 9209 6713 and ask for Sustainable Living At Home .