From the Anglican Creation Care Network
1. Pray with Thanksgiving
Pray daily with thanksgiving for the gift of life and the creation – pray for the restoration of the planet and for discernment as we live out our lives to care for creation – seek out prayer resources for creation care.
2. Don’t shop till you drop
Do I need it? Can it be recycled? Is there a more environmentally friendly option? Am I making the best use of what I already have? Can I share from my bounty with others and give rather than acquire?
3. Know the bottom line on nappies
Are your kids Eco-kids? Some calculations suggest eco-nappies made from organic cotton hemp or bamboo can save up to $5,000 per child compared with using disposable nappies.
4. Which bin? Get sorted
Did you know South Australia is a leader in sorting rubbish for recycling? Do your bit. If you are not sure where your rubbish should go – landfill, compost or recycle – go to www.whichbin.sa.gov.au or call 1300 137 118.
5. It’s not hard to deal with soft plastics
If you scrunch it and it does not bounce back into shape it is a soft plastic and can’t go in the recycle bin – BUT Redcycle will take it. Find their bins at the entrance of the large supermarket chains. Examples of soft plastics include frozen vegetable bags, bread bags and toilet roll bags, AustPost bags, potato chip bags (silver lined) and even cellophane lolly wrappers. Some cling wrap is OK but not all brands. See www.redcycle.net.au
6. Power up your E-waste disposal
E-waste is any product with a power cord or battery. They may be refurbished for sale or the components recycled. And even if they can’t be repaired, almost all parts of e-waste can be recycled (around 90% of televisions and computers). Minda partners with some local e-waste groups. Contact them or check out your local council.
7. Flick the switch to save energy
Turn off lights when you leave a room. When replacing, swap old light globes (including compact-fluoro and halogens) with LED lights. You’ll save money too! Halogen lights are 5 times more expensive than LEDs once cost price and running costs are taken into account! Plus, LEDs contain no mercury (compared with compact-flouros) and can safely be sent to landfill. For an excellent LED fact sheet see the Lighting Council of Australia website: www.lightingcouncil.com.au
8. Be an energy star performer
Use the Energy Star Rating when buying electrical appliances. The more stars – the more energy efficient is your appliance and the lower your power bills.
9. Standby! Savings in progress
Standby mode uses energy. Where possible turn off electrical appliances at the wall. Is it necessary to have a clock (as opposed to a timer) on the microwave?
10. Mind how you travel
Transport is a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions in Australia. This is not much of a surprise given the size of our country and large distances between towns and cities. What simple steps can we take?
Cycle, walk or use public transport to get to regular activities where possible – take some extra time to get there
Try and take fuel efficiency (litres per 100km) into account when you buy your next car
Think Local – Buy Local – where practical – to avoid emissions from transporting food and other products from interstate or overseas – and where possible grow your own.
So what is the Anglican Creation Care Network?
The Anglican Creation Care Network (ACCN), was established by the Synod of the Diocese of Adelaide in October 2017.
We are a small, emerging network (we aim to get bigger!) and we now have people involved from across the three Dioceses in the Province of South Australia. The network is eager to help you make a difference. We firmly believe people are a pivotal part of the solution and Christians, with their understanding of Creation, can lead by example. This is the introduction to a regular series of articles in the Guardian letting you know what’s going on in this space and offering tips on doing your ‘extra bit’ to Care for Creation.
The Anglican Creation Care Network would love to hear about the things you are doing in your parish to Care for Creation. Check out some more of our ideas here, It’s time for Anglicans to care for creation, or contact Beth at beth.walton2@bigpond.com.