Help your community save money and cut its carbon footprint

There is a new opportunity for you to inspire your community, help reduce their power bills and take action on climate change. All you need to do is promote the NSW Energymark program to your community using a suite of materials available to you now.

NSW Energymark is now recruiting 500 volunteer convenors across metropolitan and regional New South Wales to host small-group discussions that could cut participants' power bills by up to 37 per cent and lighten their carbon footprint by 27 per cent.

What is NSW Energymark?
NSW Energymark is an effective education program initiated by CSIRO and delivered in partnership with the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water NSW, that can achieve significant energy, water and waste savings in your community.

Energymark's grassroots, bottom-up approach increases people's understanding of climate change, awareness of energy use and generation, and inspires the adoption and maintenance of habits conducive to a better environment.

How does it work?
The convenors don't need to be experts on the environment to take part. All they need do is gather one small group of 10 family, friends or workmates and host eight kitchen-table discussions on energy, climate change, water and waste. All meeting hosts will be given a range of materials that guide the sessions and receive support from a locally based coordinator.

How you can help
We ask that you promote this opportunity between now and the end of February 2011. To assist you with this, we have prepared a suite of materials for your council to use, including:

• Web button for your website


• Brochures – email and print


• Editorial for your website or newsletters


• Media release template


• Advertisements – web and print.

Download promotional materials >

Queensland Flood Appeal

Many of us have either friends or relatives that live in Queensland. A practical way for the Penrith community to assist our Queensland neighbours in their time of need is to make a donation to the Queensland Government Premiers Flood Relief Appeal. Anyone wishing to make a donation can do so at their local bank branch, online or via telephone. For more information on how to donate click here.

How about an early Spring clean?

Now is the perfect time to get in and have a clean up around your house. How come? Because in February Penrith is hosting two FREE drop off services – an E-Waste disposal day and the Chemical Clean Out and – so get in now and clean up around the house!

The E-waste drop off day is being held on Saturday 19 February 2001 at Jamison Park, from 9am to 3.30pm. This is a perfect opportunity to dispose of items such as including televisions, computers, and small kitchen and household appliances. They will pulled apart, sorted and the materials will be recovered to be recycled into new items. For more information, please click here


The Chemical Clean Out is being held on Saturday 26 February 2011 at Jamison Park, from 9am to 3.30pm. The Clean Out allows you to safely dispose of items like solvents & household cleaners, floor care products, ammonia based cleaners, fluorescent globes and tubes, household batteries, car batteries, motor oils, fuels and fluids, paint & paint related products, pesticides, herbicides, poisons, gas bottles, fire extinguishers, pool chemicals, hobby chemicals, acids and alkalis. For more information, please click here

So get in and now and have a clean up in the house and the garage so you’re ready to take your items down to the clean ups!

Library Carpet Continues to Clean Up

Most people have probably never thought about the carpet in Penrith library. To be honest, we hadn’t either. The good news is the library staff have - and the result is some amazing savings in energy and water use.

The carpet was replaced when the library was refurbished back in April 2008. When choosing the new carpet, the library staff made sure it was environmentally friendly and also cost effective. The new carpet is made from fully recyclable materials, so it can be remade into new carpet at the end of its lifespan. Also, due to its design it only requires ‘dry’ vacuuming. A traditional carpet requires a wet shampoo style cleaning, which uses a lot of water and energy. So far, by only having to use the dry vacuum the library has saved:

* 8710L of water – that’s the equivalent of 120 x 4 minute showers!
* 0.43 tonnes of CO2 emissions – that’s the equivalent of running 10 x 25W compact fluoro globes for 1500 hours!

Over 7,000 visitors and counting!

With another year almost upon us, the Sustainable Penrith Blog has hit a significant milestone – we’ve had over 7,000 visitors! That’s 7,000 individual computers that have visited the blog, not total hits by the way.

We’d like to take this opportunity to thank you for your readership. We’d particularly like to thank all of those people who have left us comments or feedback on our posts.

On behalf of all of the staff at the Sustainability Unit, I’d like to wish you a safe and happy Christmas and a great New Year!

Council gets new green computers

In a great example of sustainability, the new computers being installed in Penrith City Library will be carbon neutral! The new computers, which are faster and more energy efficient than the old ones, are being supplied by ACER Computer Australia & Dataflex (ACER Channel Partner). As part of the deal Penrith City Council received 90 trees and planting them will offset the carbon emissions for the lifetime of the computers. This is part of ACER’s mission to plant a million trees by 2011.

The new computers, which are being installed over the coming months, also have another advantage according to Penrith City Mayor Kevin Crameri OAM “The computers are much smaller than standard desktop computers and this which means more room for the individual to work and surf comfortably.”

One of most important parts of the deal is what happens when it comes time to replace the computers. They will be exchanged with ACER, where the working spare parts will be reused and they will be refurbished for distribution to Third World Countries.

Charles Chung, Managing Director (Oceanic) ACER Computers with Mayor Kevin Crameri OAM.

Want to be a climate change leader in your community?

Volunteer for NSW Energymark and reduce your carbon footprint and power bills. CSIRO and the NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water are looking for 500 volunteers to lead small group discussions on energy, climate change, water and waste.

You don't need to know a lot about energy and climate change - simply gather a small group of people (family, friends, neighbours, workmates) for discussions using support and material developed by CSIRO and the NSW Government.

To register, visit the Energymark website or call 1300 119 003.

Modern Cloth Nappies – Not what your Grandma used!

Cloth nappies have come a long way in recent years – these days they work just as well as disposables, are easy to put on and wash and come in a myriad of colours and prints.

So just what are Modern Cloth Nappies? They come in various styles but essentially, they are the modern version of the cloth nappies of old. MCN’s have elastic in the legs and waist for a comfy fit and a closure system such as snaps or velcro.

There are a few types of MCN’s, each with their own advantages and uses. They can basically be divided into those that need a cover and those that don’t. Fitted nappies are those that require a waterproof cover. The nappy is made of fabric that absorbs liquid and usually has a built in closure. A cover is made of waterproof fabric which fits over the top of the fitted nappy.

The other type of cloth nappy are the ‘all-in-ones’, which are arguably the most popular type of MCN. These nappies don’t require a separate cover as they have a waterproof layer built in. The absorbent material is built into the nappy which has a closure system as described above. There are a lot of all-in-one nappies on the market that have a ‘snap’ down system to allow for size increases, which means that one nappy will last from birth until toilet training. Pocket nappies are similar in that they consist of a ‘shell’ of waterproof outing with a pocket opening in which absorbent material is stuffed inside the nappy. The advantage here is that you can customise that absorbency of the nappy using a variety of materials.

So why choose cloth? Apart from the obvious environmental concerns with using disposable nappies, cloth nappies save you money! There are many websites that have information on how much money you can save. Even calculating water and electricity for washing, cloth nappies work out much cheaper than using disposables, especially if you use them for more than one child! Don’t like ‘getting your hands dirty’? Cloth nappies can be stored in a sealed bucket until washing day (no soaking required), then just put the lot in the washing machine and when done, out on the line to dry in the sun.

Just think, every disposable nappy ever used is still in existence, sitting in a landfill somewhere. That’s where you can make the difference, every time you use a cloth nappy, that’s one less disposable that ends up in landfill. Where do you start I hear you ask? Just Google cloth nappies and you will find an abundance of options in brands, types, colours, costs and materials. Even one cloth nappy will make a difference.

We’d love to hear your feedback about whether you use cloth nappies or not, and what your experiences have been. Please leave a comment at the bottom of this article.

People's Choice Awards WINNERS 2010

Thank you to everyone who gave a SHOUT OUT for Climate Change in 2010.

We saw amazing entries from all around Australia that were creative, resourceful and passionate about raising awareness of climate change. Make sure you keep sharing your videos and spreading the good word.

Please put your hands together for the winners of the 2010 Shout Out for Climate Change competition.

The competition was fierce and the judges had a difficult time deciding. But the results are in. Click here for the results

Why not make your Christmas presents Fair Trade this year?

If you are looking for a unique Christmas present for someone special, why not look at getting them something that’s Fair Trade certified? Fair Trade empowers disadvantaged communities by paying them fair and stable prices for their work, helping them to gain the skills they need to develop their business, and giving them access to world markets. To help make your shopping easier, a Christmas guide has been released which outlines a number of Fair Trade products. To view the guide, please click here.