You might not realise it, but the amount of water that you consume could be off the charts, harming the planet. According to a recent news article, the average person in the UK consumes 150 litres of water daily – but this amount increases to 4,500 litres when hidden water is considered.
Stop the Drip
In order to make positive changes and stop using so much water, we have to make more eco-conscious decisions.
At home, it’s a must to close taps when they’re not being used. You should never dispose of paint, medicine or pollutants down the drain. Installing eco-friendly toilets as well as showerheads can also save water. But there’s more you can do.
Instead of stocking up on ten pairs of jeans, try to own no more than three or four. To make one pair of jeans, 1 kilogram of cotton requires 10 000 litres of water (that includes growing the cotton, dying it and the washing process).
Another idea is to cut down on your meat consumption. Just by having one meat-free day a week, you can save approximately 3360 litres of water every week!
Limit your coffee intake, too. To make one cup of coffee, 125ml of water is needed – but an extra 140 litres are required to grow the coffee beans.
Instead of stocking up on ten pairs of jeans, try to own no more than three or four
How Much Water is in That?
We often use water without being aware of it. This is what’s known as hidden water. Here are some areas in which litres of water are being used without our knowledge, with figures provided by National Geographic:
Milk
To give you one cup of milk, 208 litres of water are required.
Wine
One cup of wine will make use of 240 litres of water.
Wheat
If you’re not gluten-intolerant, saving water could be a good incentive to cut down on wheat consumption. One pound of wheat requires 500 litres of water. Globally, wheat production makes up 12 per cent of global water for agricultural crop production.
Rice
Rice also uses a lot of water – even more than wheat! Producing rice results in 21 per cent of global water.
Paper
Stop printing out all those e-mails! The production of 500 sheets of paper uses up 5,000 litres of water.
Chocolate
One pound of chocolate requires 12,000 litres of water. (Sorry, chocoholics.)
Sugar
One pound of refined sugar makes use of 750 litres of water.
Calculate Your Water Footprint
Feeling guilty about your water usage? Knowing just how much you are using can help you cut down. Go to Waterfootprint.org to calculate your water footprint according to what foods you eat, how you wash your dishes, how often you shower instead of bath, how much you water your garden, and more.
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