September 30, 2019
It’s Time to Change the World this National Water Week
Every year the Australian Water Association runs a National Water Week campaign, aiming to inspire individuals, communities, and organisations to work together to build awareness around the value of water.
This year is no different, with the theme ‘It’s time to change the world’ based on the UN’s recent sustainable development goals. One of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals challenges us to work towards a world where everyone will have access to safe and clean water.
Whilst there are many NGOs and organisations working towards improving access to safe and clean water for everyone, there are many things you can be doing at home to help preserve water and keep it clean:
- Take shorter showers.
- Swap to a water-efficient showerhead.
- Fix leaking taps.
- Turn the taps off when you’re brushing your teeth, washing your hands or shaving. A running tap can waste 10 litres of water per minute.
- Consider using greywater from the laundry to water your garden.
- Collect water in a bucket or bowl whenever you need to run the taps, and use it on your garden.
- Only turn on the dishwasher when it’s full.
- Use water-efficient appliances where possible.
- Reduce water waste by using the half flush where possible.
- Don’t flush your expired or unwanted medicine down the toilet – by returning it to your local pharmacy it stays out of our waterways.
By following these simple steps, you’ll not only be saving water in your household, but you’ll also be helping to create a better and more sustainable water system in Australia.
The Return of Unwanted Medicines Project is a free service that offers a way to dispose of unwanted or expired medicines safely and conveniently at your local community pharmacy. Find out more about the service here.