Sustainability // Fun Facts

• Recycling 1kg of aluminium saves up to 6kg of bauxite, 4kg of chemical products and 14kWh of electricity.

• Making glass from recycled material requires only 40% of the energy necessary to make glass from sand.

• Glass can be recycled an infinite number of times without any loss of quality.

• A large-screen television turned on for 6 hours a day can generate half a tonne of greenhouse gas a year. That's about the same amount as running a fridge for a whole year.

• A tap leaking at the rate of one drip a second could waste more than 12,000 litres of water a year.

• Up to 90% of the materials used in a mobile phone can be recycled. 

• Steel is the most commonly recycled material throughout the world. More steel is recycled annually than all other materials, including aluminium, glass, and paper combined.

• Almost 10 percent of our rubbish landfill is packaging.

• A used aluminium can takes only six to eight weeks to be recycled and appear back on the shelves.

• A standard shower head may use up to 25 litres of water per minute whereas a water efficient shower head might use as little as 7 litres per minute, which is less than a third.

• Every tonne of paper recycled saves about 13 trees, 2.5 barrels of oil, 4100 kWh of electricity, 4 cubic metres of landfill and 31,780 litres of water.

• Within the last 30 years, Victoria’s total energy consumption has increased by more than 80%.

• Turn off your computer. Of the $250 billion spent per year on powering computers worldwide, only about 15% of that power is spent computing, the rest is wasted idling.

• Cycling 10 kilometres each way to work can save you about $1,700 in transport costs and 1,500 kilograms of greenhouse gas emissions each year. 

•  Only run the dishwasher when it is full to make the best use of water, energy and detergent. Use short cycle and save up to 75% of water per wash.

Every little bit counts, do your good deed daily. We are doing ours!

Learn more at http://www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/