Families use more water to beat the heat, experts say

By Jamie Teibel
Summer Editor

During the summer, families produce more waste and use more water and energy attempting to beat the heat, said the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.

Keri McGrath, spokesperson for the department, said that the average person uses 50 gallons of water a day. She said that the United States uses more water per capita than any other country. This includes everything that uses water, such as showers, toilets and sprinklers. "Not a whole lot of that (water) is used for drinking," she said.

McGrath said that many environmentally friendly appliances are available, such as low flow showerheads and low flow toilets, which use 18 percent less water than standard ones. There are also washing machines and dishwashers designed to use less water.

Automatic dishwashers use less water than hand dishwashing, said McGrath. She said that dishwashers use only 9-12 gallons of water, but hand washing uses about 20 gallons of water.

Brushing your teeth also uses water amounts that measure in gallons. McGrath said that instead of using the estimated two gallons while brushing, turn on the faucet only when rinsing or fill a cup with water and place it on the counter next to you.

"It saves money in the long run because using less water," she said. "It adds up."

Taking a ten-minute shower seems like it saves more water and money; however, McGrath said that in a ten-minute shower, a bather could use up to 100 gallons of water.

In the summer, the outdoors is also a popular place to waste water. When you decide to water your lawn, McGrath said to water just that, not the surrounding concrete. "A lot of water is wasted there," she said. "Don't (water your lawn) in peak daylight hours because the water evaporates. Water it in the evening hours, it's a lot more effective."

Energy conservation is also an important issue. Failing to turn the lights off when exiting a room increases the demand on utilities, letting out pollutants into the air, which in turn have a negative effect on the ozone, said Tim Coulom, spokesman for the department.

"Basically, it's important for people to conserve energy," he said.

In addition to turning off unused lights, Coulom said to also use your air conditioner wisely, setting it on 78 degrees or higher when at home and 85 degrees or off when away. Using ceiling or portable fans also eliminates the waste of energy, he said.

Coulom said that when turning off computers and printers turn off power strip as well. Don't use appliances such as the dishwasher and washing machine between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. because those are the most common hours people do those chores; therefore putting that energy in high demand.

He said to always use cold water for rinsing clothes to reduce the amount of hot water, which, in turn, reduces the amount of energy used to heat the water.

The final summer conservation tip deals with yard waste. Courtney Sanderson, information specialist at the department, said yard waste could amount to 50 percent more of household waste — 18 percent more than the rest of the year.

She said 24 million tons of waste that goes into the landfill is yard waste. All of that creates more leachate production - the "ooze" that comes out of the landfill - and causes problems with settling. Sanderson said those problems create more maintenance within the landfill and in the incinerator.

"The key is to find the best way to reduce yard waste," said Sanderson. Starting a compost pile frightens many people because they think it will make their yards ugly, but Sanderson said it could be maintained easily or put in a discrete area in the yard. The compost can then be used for daily cover on a garden, she said.

"Composting is a really big deal; you can keep reusing those materials so less goes to the landfill," said Sanderson. "Like recycling, we can reuse instead of sending (yard waste) to a landfill - it's just that important."

She said that people could also take their yard waste to neighborhood composting sites or to a local waste management district.

A spokesperson from Wildcat Creek Solid Waste Management said that in West Lafayette the city picks up yard waste on Fridays. The Tippecanoe trash transfer station, located at 2770 N. Ninth Street in Lafayette, accepts yard waste for $5 a car load and $10 a truck-load.

· For brochures and more information on composting call 423-2858.