REDUCE WASTE, THERE’S A WATER SHORTAGE

HOW TO SAVE WATER DURING ORDINARY DAILY OPERATION

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ater consumption in the Czech Republic is increasing year by year. According to data from the Czech Statistical Office, consumption in 2018 reached 133 litres per person per day, while the average in households was 90 litres per person (the infographic gives an overview of the daily consumption in litres). This includes drinking, personal hygiene, washing dishes and laundry, but also watering and washing the car. Households in the capital have the highest levels of consumption. According to information provided by the Prague Water Supply and Sewage Systems company, consumption has reached 107 litres per person/day, which is approximately one-fifth more than in the rest of the country.These are not encouraging figures. We are living in a climate change era, which has manifested itself, as everyone may have noticed in recent years, in an unprecedented drought. In many villages, wells are drying up, and municipal water supply systems are suffering from water shortages. More and more, people are logically interested in the best options to save water.

TAPS IN THE KITCHEN, BATHROOM AND GARDEN OF A FOUR-PERSON HOUSEHOLD USE 532 LITRES OF WATER PER DAY. ABOUT HALF OF THIS CAN BE SAVED.

Other types of washing

Everything starts in the bathroom. If people got used to taking a shower instead of a bath, this would significantly affect their overall consumption – according to initial estimates and practical measurements, we only consume about 30 to 80 litres when showering, while taking a bath requires 100 to 150 litres. It is also good to monitor other habits: For example, many people leave the shower turned on the whole time while they are washing themselves, which is not necessary at all.The same applies to brushing one’s teeth. And those who want to chip in to save more can purchase modern sanitary electronics: According to the Enviweb.cz server, smart measuring devices save dozens of litres a day on flushing, showering and washing one’s hands. In terms of dishes, a dishwasher (10–30 litres) is considerably better than washing dishes by hand (20–40 litres), especially if the water is kept running (30–80 litres). And anyone who is really serious about saving water can use rainwater to water the garden or flush the toilet.

Washing the car takes up a significant portion of total consumption. If anyone thinks it is better to do so in front of the house, they are mistaken – according to Slate.com, car washing takes up about 300 litres of water, while an automatic carwash requires just 64 litres for its best programme. Wastewater management also adds value to the car wash, whereas on the street, it usually flows into the sewer, and in the garden it seeps into the soil, a carwash equipped with a drain well has the water flowing directly into the sewage treatment plant. Rani TOLIMAT

World Water Day 

First proclaimed by the United Nations in 1993, it is celebrated every year on 22 March. On this day, the global community remembers that more than 1 billion people on the planet still suffer from a shortage of drinking water.

Traditionally, governments and non-profit organisations on all continents have helped to focus on saving water and its purity and protecting it. Each year, the day has a main theme, and this year it is water and climate change.

LIMITING SINGLE-USE DISHES

THE AC RESTAURANT HAS LAUNCHED THE ECO-BOX PILOT PROJECT

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f you get your meal from the Aramark restaurant as a take-away, from the beginning of March you may have it packed in an eco-box, which doesn’t end up in the bin but is re-used repeatedly. The pilot project has been testing the new alternative only at the restaurant in the Administration Centre. If it succeeds among our employees, the project will be expanded to other restaurants as well.

You ask for the box directly at the dispenser and then pay a refundable deposit of CZK 250 at the cash desk. This cash deposit will be reflected in your monthly limit and does not affect the daily limit. Every time you use the box, Aramark will deduct a service charge of CZK 5 to pay for a disposable plastic menu box. You can return this food box at any time after cleaning it. Simply put it in the special basket to get your deposit back. The fee is forfeited only if the box has been damaged. RED

Packaging advantages

BPA free – Bisphenol A free, can be washed in a dishwasher or used in microwave

100% recyclable material

Interesting design

Perfectly tight

Temperature resistance from –20 to +121°C

Did you know that...

… at Aramark restaurants, we use 7 tonnes of disposable plastic boxes per year? In order to limit the quantity, we have been testing an alternative to plastic menu boxes since the beginning of March.