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Transport Facts
- Did you know that by simply taking one less short car journey a week we could reduce pollution which can aggravate asthma in children.
- By making sure that your car tyres are inflated properly, you can reduce your fuel bill. In fact for every 6psi (pounds per square inch) a tyre is under-inflated, fuel consumption can rise by 1%.
- Car traffic is forecast to increase by 22% by 2010 from the current levels of 321 billion vehicle kilometres (per year) if no action is taken
(Source: DETR Transport 2010:The 10 Year Plan)
- 58% of car trips are under 5 miles and 25% are less than 2 miles.
(Source: National Travel Survey)
- There was a 69% increase in motor vehicle traffic between 1980 and 1998. Almost all of this was increased car traffic, which accounted for nearly 82% of all road traffic in 1998.
(Source: Transport Statistics Great Britain. 1999)
- 7 out of 10 journeys to work are by car.
(Source: Labour Force Survey)
- At the peak school travel time of 8.50 am, nearly 1 in 5 cars on urban roads are taking children to school.
(Source: National Travel Survey)
- The proportion of 5-16 year olds going to school by car rose from 16% in 1985/6 to 28% in 1996/8; cycling fell from 4% to 1%, and walking fell from 59% to 49%
(Source: National Travel Survey)
- A double-decker bus carries the same number of people as 20 fully occupied cars.
(Source: Travel/Wise)
but takes up a seventh of the road space.
(Source: Environmental Transport Association)
- Buses and coaches account for only 1% of the total vehicle mileage on Britain's roads.
(Source: DETR National Traffic Census)
- 90% of badly polluting vehicles can be re-tuned within 15 minutes.
(Source: DETR)
- Based on government data, 761 road links (10% of major urban roads), will break pollution standards for nitrogen dioxide in 2005. Almost two-thirds of these are in London.
(Source: NETCEN)
- Traffic delays cost the country around £15 billion a year.
(Source: CBI)
- In heavy traffic jams, the air quality can be poorer inside the car than out. Car users regularly suffer up to 3 times as much pollution as pedestrians.
(Source: Environmental Transport Association 1997)
- Emissions from road transport now constitute over 70% of all emissions of Carbon Monoxide (CO). Emissions of CO from road transport rose in the 1970s and 1980s, but since 1990 they have begun to fall, mainly because of the introduction of catalytic converters on petrol-fuelled cars.
(Source: NETCEN - DETR The Environment in your Pocket 1998)
- A 10% increase in the number of people cycling regularly would lead to a 4% reduction in the number of people with heart disease, saving the NHS £200 million a year.
(Source: Going for Green)
- Cycling or walking briskly for half an hour a day can halve the risk of heart disease.
(Source: Health Education Authority)
É. that is as little as a 2 mile walk or 5 mile bike ride.
- Over the last 20 years, the average distances cycled and walked have both fallen by a quarter.
(Source: NTS)
Energy Facts
- When you make a cuppa boil just the amount of water you need and in a day we could save enough energy to light virtually every street lamp in the UK.
- The production and use of energy is the leading source of humanity's greenhouse gas emissions.
(Source: Climate Change Information Kit, UNEP)
- Carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels (oil, natural gas and coal) to generate electricity and run our automobiles, heat houses and power factories, is the largest single source of greenhouse gas emissions from human activities.
(Source: Climate Change Information Kit, UNEP)
- Extracting, processing, transporting and distributing fossil fuels also releases greenhouse gases.
(Source: Climate Change Information Kit, UNEP)
- The energy consumed each year by UK commerce and industry releases about 60 million tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere.
(Sources: Digest of UK Energy Statistics, DTI and ETSU)
- Through energy use the average home emits more harmful CO2 gas than the average car.
(Source: ETSU)
- The average household spends approximately £400 on energy bills during the winter (Oct-Mar) - about a third more than an energy efficient home.
(Source : ETSU)
- Domestic energy consumers spend approximately two-thirds of their total annual energy bill in the winter months.
(Source: ETSU)
- In the winter of 1998, UK households wasted around £2.4 billion in excess heating costs. Every household could have saved around £100 on heating bills.
(Source: ETSU)
- By turning down your thermostat by 1o centigrade, or using one hour less heating a day, you could cut your fuel bills by 10%.
(Source: BRECSU)
- Installing loft insulation to a depth of at least 15cm (6 inches) can save around 20% of your heating costs.
(Source: EST)
- Cavity wall insulation reduces heat loss through walls by up to 60%, and can save up to 40% on heating bills.
(Source: ETSU/BRECSU)
- Up to 20% of heat lost from a home can be through windows. Double-glazing can reduce this loss by up to 50%.
(Source: ETSU)
- Replacing a boiler that is over 15 years old, or unreliable, could save 10-15% on fuel bills.
(Source DETR/MTP)
- Adding heating controls to the central heating system could cut costs by up to 20%.
- (Source: EST)
- Lighting accounts for 20% of the average household electricity bill.
(Source: DETR/MTP)
- Using just one energy saving light bulb could save you £5 a year, and if every household installed one, we could power the lighting currently used in 2 million homes for a year.
(Source: DETR)
- If everyone boiled only the water they needed to make a cup of tea instead of 'filling' the kettle every time, we could save enough electricity to run practically all the street lighting in the country.
(Source:DETR)
- If every household changed just two of the four most regularly used bulbs for energy efficient ones (CFL's) the energy saved would be enough to power all the street lighting in the UK.
(Source: ETSU)
Water Facts
- Inside
- One drip per second wastes around 1200 litres of water in a year; that's around 4 litres a day; and 90 litres of water if the drips are breaking into a stream.
(Source: Environment Agency - Water Wise)
- Running the tap can use 10-14 litres of water a minute - which would give enough for a small bath in just 5 minutes.
(Source: Environment Agency - Water Wise)
so make sure you mend any dripping taps, and turn off taps when not in use and turn off the tap when brushing your teeth
- Washing a mug under a running tap uses about a litre of water; six mugs use about the same as a whole bowl of washing up.
(Source: Bristol Water plc)
- A single washing machine cycle uses up to 100 litres of water (22 gallons) - and the average family uses their washing machine five times a week . That's 26,000 litres (5,720 gallons) in a year.
(Source: Southern Water website)
- Only use the washing machine or dishwasher when you have a full load. If you have an economy cycle, then use this.
(Source: Watersmart)
- A full load in the washing machine uses less water than two half loads. (Source: Thames Water website)
- Take showers, not baths and save enough water each week for 1000 cups of tea.
(Source: DETR)
- A third of an average family's water use is flushed down the toilet
(Source: Save-a-flush)
- The average family uses the equivalent of two baths of water per day when flushing the toilet.
(Source: Save-a-flush)
so install a water saving device in your toilet cistern.
- Installing a water meter can save you water and money by monitoring how much you use.
(Source: Thames Water website)
- 20-25% of domestic energy consumed is used to heat water in the kitchen and bathroom.
(Source: Environment Agency - Using Water Wisely)
so if you try to be more efficient when showering, bathing and washing up, you can save even more money.
- Outside
- In half an hour, a garden sprinkler uses as much water as a family of four in a day.
(Source: DETR)
- A garden sprinkler uses 1,000 litres of water an hour - that's nearly one pint for every 2 seconds it is in operation.
(Source: Southern Water website)
- Once a week is all the water your lawn needs even in the hottest weather. Over-watering can weaken your lawn by encouraging roots to seek the surface.
(Source: Thames Water website)
- Using a hose to wash your car wastes up to 300 litres or 33 bucketsful of water.
(Source: Southern Water website)
- By 2080 annual rainfall in England and Wales will have increased by 0-10%; in Scotland by 5-20%. However, there will be reductions in summer rainfall over much of England and Wales by 10-20%, when demand is also at its highest.
(Source: UK Climate Impacts Programme - Climate Scenario Report)
- The probability of summer rainfall being less than half of required levels could increase from once every century to once every 10 years.
(Source: UK Climate Impacts Programme - Climate Scenario Report)
Waste Facts
- In just over a week, we produce enough rubbish to fill Wembley stadium. Over half can be recycled.
(Source: DETR)
- The volume of waste produced in the UK in one hour would fill the Albert Hall.
(Source: LGB Publications)
- In one day there would be enough waste to fill Trafalgar Square up to the top of Nelson's Column.
(Source: LGB Publications)
- In one year there would be enough waste to fill dustbins stretching from the Earth to the Moon.
(Source: LGB Publications)
Metals (eg food and drink cans)
- Every year in the UK we use 13 billion steel cans which, placed end to end, would stretch to the moon - three times!
(Source: Steel Can Recycling Information Bureau)
- Producing steel from recycled materials saves 75 per cent of the energy needed to make steel from virgin materials
(Source: Steel Can Recycling Information Bureau)
- Recycling aluminium can bring energy savings of up to 95%, reduces import costs, and produces 95% less greenhouse gas emissions than when it is produced from raw materials.
(Source:alupro)
- About 20,000 tonnes of aluminium foil packaging (worth £8 million) is wasted each year. Only 3,000 tonnes is recycled (worth £1.2 million)
(Source:alupro)
- If all the aluminium cans sold in the UK were recycled, there would be 12 million fewer full dustbins each year.
(Source:Alucan website)
Paper (eg newspapers and magazines)
- Each tonne of paper recycled saves 15 average-sized trees, as well as their surrounding habitat and wildlife.
(Source:World Wildlife Fund)
- Reclaimed waste paper represents around 63% of the fibre used to produce paper and board in the UK.
(Source:The Paper & Pulp Information Centre)
Glass (eg glass bottles and jars)
- Glass packaging makes up about 9% by weight of the average household dustbin but accounts for over 70% by weight of packaging recycled from the total household waste stream.
(Source:British Glass)
- Up to 90% of new glass can be made from reclaimed scrap glass, which saves energy and raw materials.
(Source:British Glass)
- In the UK, we use over 6 billion glass containers each year, equating to over 2 million tonnes. In 1998 we recycled 22% of these containers - the European average is 50%, with some countries recycling over 80%.
(Source:British Glass)
- There are 22,000 bottle bank sites in the UK.
(Source:British Glass)
Plastic (eg carrier bags and plastic bottles and pots)
- It is estimated that if 30% of the current consumption of thermoplastics in the UK could be recycled to replace virgin raw materials, substantial energy savings would be achieved and carbon dioxide emissions would be reduced by about 3 million tonnes/year.
(Source:ETSU)
- Of the 2.4 million tonnes of plastic waste, an estimated 1,400,000 tonnes is household plastic waste, 200,000 tonnes is 'process scrap', and 800,000 tonnes is commercial waste. 61% of the total plastic waste from Western Europe is packaging, which typically has a 'life' of less than 12 months.
(Source:AEA Technology)
Packaging generally
- Packaging is typically 25-35% by weight of dustbin waste, but developments in material strength and manufacturing technologies have allowed less material to contain the same volume of goods. Compared to 50 years ago:
- food cans are 50% lighter;
- yoghurt pots are 60% lighter;
- glass milk bottles are 50% lighter;
- plastic carrier bags are half as thick.
- Reducing the weight of packaging saves on transport costs and emissions as well as reducing consumption of raw materials.
(Source:INCPEN)
Other household waste (eg kitchen food scraps, books and unwanted toys)
- Your waste can have a value to someone else - take old clothes, books, toys and bric-a-brac to charity shops or car boot sales.
(Source:INCPEN)
- About a third of household waste is kitchen and garden waste - help reduce it by adding vegetable peelings and fruit skins to your compost heap.
(Source:INCPEN)
- Another third of the dustbin is paper - ask your dentist or doctor if they would like old magazines for their waiting room and support paper recycling schemes.
(Source:INCPEN)
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