From a leak to a tweak

Do you know how much water is wasted from a leaking tap? I didn't until I had one.

I rent a house in Cairns, Queensland with my son and as tenants, we can be charged full or excess water consumption. With this in mind, I was keen to get a leaking tap in the kitchen sink fixed however plumbers were busy, so I had to wait a few days for one to have time and do this.

So, I did the next best thing and plugged the drain to try and "save" the water. I used the waiting game to learn what I could about being water-wise. In my situation, the leaking tap wasted 8 litres of water overnight. I knew this as every morning I emptied the full sink using a 2-litre jug. What did I do with the water? I re-purposed it.

Instead of using the hose to water my pot plants, I used the water that had leaked from the tap. I watered the vegetable and herb seedlings, as well as the flowers in their garden beds. I filled the dogs' water bowls and even had enough to give them their baths. I also re-filled water bottles and ice-cube trays and instead of rinsing plates or vegetables under running water, I used the water from the leaking tap. I even washed my hair which was rather therapeutic as I got to sit in natural sunlight and pour water onto my scalp using a jug.

However, it got to the stage where re-purposing the water was becoming difficult. Cairns is in a unique location - I literally live in a place where the ocean meets the reef. Our average rainfall is almost 2000mm per annum with most falling during summer. I grew up in Babinda, a little community just south of Cairns in a green valley known for freshwater creeks and being the wettest town in Australia. So, it wasn't only surprising how much water was coming from this one tap, but also how ignorant I was of how much we take our natural resources for granted.

Reflecting on my own habits, I felt like I wasn't doing enough as I realized just how much I was wasting. Living with just one other person in this large house, we were in the habit of washing dishes under running water with a dish wand... what a waste! After doing my research, I learnt that the smart use of a high Energy-and-Water-rated dishwasher could potentially save 90 litres of water per load and as it turned out, we had one of those. Thus, began the use of the dreaded dishwater.

Also, I learnt that we flushed toilets around 5 times each day. For my household, we were looking at 10 flushes which meant with our dual flush toilets, 30 to 45 litres of water was potentially going down the pipes each day. However, it seemed as though for me and my bladder the flushing was above average, so I decided to make a change and flush no more than 5 times, with a goal to get that number down too.

After the leak was fixed I decided to keep with the changes I made in water consumption and instead of using the garden hose to water the gardens, I continued to use the jug when it wasn't raining. Time in the shower was reduced to 1 song instead of a playlist which meant we were saving almost 9.5 litres of water for each minute we chose to not stand under the showerhead.

Cairns has had a recycling service in place for a long time so placing plastic bottles and containers, glass bottles and jars, paper and cardboard, and steel and aluminium in this bin for the fortnightly collection was very much a part of our norm. However, because of a leaking tap, I reflected on 2 more habits - just how many products and/or items we bought that were contained in these recyclables, and how many were not.

As such, composting has become the next goal and although we have started off small with fruit and vegetable scraps, as well as whatever twigs end up in the yard, the start has been a good one. Cooking more with fresh vegetables rather than the pre-packaged frozen variety has restored excitement in the kitchen and working to limit the purchase of fast food has become not only a money-saving endeavour, but also an act of kindness on my waistline. Reusable bags have also found a home in the boot of the car, so I don't forget when I shop and purchase more from the grocery stores.

Talking about cars, we do have 2 in this 2-person household which seemed ridiculous but was a necessity born from living separate lives. So, to limit unnecessary use of vehicles, we have opted to merge aspects of our lives and carpool to grocery shop and sporting and other events which has helped with fuel and other car expenses. Better again, this has re-opened fun and meaningful conversations and prompted deeper connections as we spend more time together.

Other tweaks to my habits include no longer using a hairdryer every morning. Over the last 3 months, I have experimented with just washing and air drying my hair. An unexpected consequence of this has been tighter and bouncier curls which I've grown to like. This is huge considering the humidity of North Queensland puts the frizz back in the fro. Also, we make sure the dishwasher and washing machine have full loads when using and we don't have a dryer but hang our clothes to dry. Admittedly, this was originally an act to save money on the electricity bill, but I understand now doing such things also reduces our carbon footprint.

So, because of a leaking tap, I am becoming more aware of how I can be an active global citizen. Personal experience around wastage has prompted me to find out more and do what is in my power to do no matter how minor the tweak in my habits may be. Acting on this understanding is not only bringing short-term personal satisfaction but is also generating long-term global benefits.

This far outweighs saving a few dollars and cents from my next lot of bills.

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