Ways to reduce your water usage
Water, an essential to human life. We’ve been hydrating ourselves, cleansing our bodies, watering our plants with it since the beginning of time. Despite its seeming abundance, water supply isn’t an infinite resource. If not managed properly, water shortage is something that may become the norm.
The immediate effect of reducing water usage is saving money on water and energy bills. But, when we conserve water, we’re not only reaping individual benefits, the Earth will thank us for it too. Water conservation helps prevent greenhouse gas emissions produced by energy used to clean and distribute water, decreases wastewater treatments at sewerage plants and helps to maintain our water supplies during drought seasons.
Water helps keep our bodies healthy and clean, nourishes fruits and vegetables and protects our ecosystem and wildlife. As our global population grows and the Earth becomes drier and warmer, committing to saving water is vital. At Jurlique, in line with our commitment to sustainability, we've reduced our water usage by 25% since 2015 by using rain and recycled water. Conserving water is one part of staying true to our mission, and we encourage you to make it a priority too.
Ways to reduce water usage
1. Shorter showers
You would be surprised how much water we use daily. A typical shower uses approximately 19 litres per minute! Cutting down your showers from 10 to 5 five minutes will save about 95 litres a day. It’s easy to drift off to la-la land in the shower, so an easy way to stick to a shorter shower is by using a timer, that way you’ll stay focused and be in and out of the shower quicker. The recommended shower time is four minutes or less, so try and aim for that to reduce water usage at home.
2. Flush toilets less
Did you know that the average person flushes the toilet about five times day? One flush of water can use up to 12 litres of water. By using the half flush button when appropriate to do so you can save about 18 litres a day. All the incremental choices really add up! Another way to reduce your toilet flushes is to stop using it to dispose of tissues – throw them in the bin instead.
3. Turn the tap off in the bathroom
Reduce your water footprint by not leaving the water running when you’re brushing your teeth or cleansing your skin. A simple way to reduce the time you spend cleansing is by using a cleansing oil. By using a cleansing oil, you’ll end up using less water because instead of having to rinse your face with running water, all you need to do is wet a face towel once, use the back of the towel when the front is dirty and then pop into your laundry basket. Our Nourishing Cleansing Oil not only nourishes and cleanses the skin but it’s free of any chemicals or parabens that’ll flow down the drain into our water ways and have a negative impact on the environment.
4. Wash a full load
It actually takes as much energy and water to wash a full load as it does a half load, especially if you’re not using an appropriate amount of water. So, it’s best to wait until your basket is full before washing your dirty laundry. Can’t wait that long? Then make sure you’re not using excess water to wash your clothes. If your washing machine comes with an energy saving setting, use that as well as using cold water to save more energy. Also, opt for biodegradable laundry detergents to reduce the harmful effect on our waterways.
5. Avoid rinsing before using the dishwasher
Resist the urge to rinse your utensils before popping them into the dishwasher. Instead, scrape your food scraps as best as you can into the bin (a compost bin would be even better). Much like the washing machine, try and only turn the dishwasher on when you have a full load and use an energy saving setting.
6. Consume local seasonal produce
By eating local seasonal fruits and veggies, you’ll indirectly be helping to conserve water. About five barrels of water is used to create one barrel of petrol. If we all make a commitment to eat locally then that’s less outbound miles on farm trucks coming in from different states. Another way to reduce water usage through food is by cutting down on red meat and eating less water-intensive foods like chicken, chickpeas and lentils.