Orielton

Pembrokeshire Coast

Eco-Centre

What We Have Done

We believe the changes we have implemented at the Centre will contribute to helping the environment and reducing pollution. Each idea is explained below with some of the thinking behind it.

Energy efficient lighting

Not all forms of electric lighting use the same amount of electricity. At the centre we use strip lighting which does not use as much energy as normal bulbs, by wasting less energy as heat. Using just one energy saving light bulb could save you £5 a year, and if every household installed one, we could power the lighting currently used in 2 million homes for a year.

Heat only the area being used, shutting doors and windows

We also save energy by only using it if it is needed. Much of the centre is heated using wall heaters so we only use these in the areas in which people are working. Shutting doors and closing windows helps contain the heat generated and so cuts down on the amount of time the heaters need to be switched on. Most of the electricity we use comes from burning fossil fuels; coal, oil and gas. This releases smoke and harmful gases into the atmosphere such as the main greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide. The gases produced accelerate climate change and cause problems such as acid rain. Also fossil fuels are not an unlimited resource. Once we have used them up, they will be gone forever.

Compost organic waste and use it to grow food

This is a form of recycling. We take all the food waste from the Centre and other organic waste such as paper towels and put them in our compost bins to make compost. This cuts down the amount of waste going to landfill sites.

Orieltons Compost Bin

Walk, cycle or use public transport as much as possible

Cycling or walking briskly for half an hour a day can halve the risk of heart disease ! Emissions from road transport now constitute over 70% of all emissions of Carbon Monoxide . Currently, buses and coaches account for only 1% of the total vehicle mileage on Britain’s roads and 58% of car trips are under 5 miles and 25% are less than 2 miles

Reduce wastage of water

When making a cup of tea or coffee boil just the amount of water you need and in one day we could all save enough energy to light virtually every street lamp in the UK. Taking showers, not a bath saves enough water each week for 1000 cups of tea. Running the tap can use 10 – 14 litres of water a minute – enough to fill a small bath in 5 minutes!

Recycle whenever possible

In just over a week, we produce enough rubbish to fill Wembley Stadium. Over half could be recycled. Recycling means less rubbish is being dumped on landfill sites. It also means less raw materials are needed. If all the aluminium cans sold in the UK were recycled, there would be 12 million fewer full dustbins each year!

One of many recycling points at Orielton

Reuse waste

Many items we throw away can be reused either for their original purpose or a different one. This is good as it reduces the volume of waste being sent to landfill sites and does not require any energy use (recycling would). We also use boxes instead of card during model making. Paper used in teaching and in the office internally is used on both sides before being put into the recycling box.

Using environmentally-friendly products and no harmful chemicals

We use a lot of cleaning products as well as paint and glue so we feel it makes sense to choose products that have been tested and found to be more environmentally-friendly. We try to keep our wildlife site free of chemicals such as weed killers which can harm wild plants and animals.

Using Fairtrade products and local produce

We use Fairtrade products such as tea, coffee and chocolate and as much as possible we try to buy produce from local suppliers. We also sell fairtrade products in our tuckshop. Fairtrade produce guarantees a better deal to producers in the developing world. This means a stable price which covers their production costs. Too many farmers in the developing world have to contend with fluctuating prices that may not even cover what it costs to produce their crop.