Earth Basics is the winner of the Eco-Efficiency Award in recognition of savings made in the area of energy and waste management.

What Earth Basics does:

Reusing Packaging

• Packaging that comes from our suppliers is reused as packaging for customers. Cardboard boxes, bubble wrap & other packaging are all reused.
• Address labels are printed in-house on recycled paper & encourage other people to reuse the packaging.  The labels also contain a statement about the environmental commitment of the business.
• Earth Basics only uses Envirobags, 100% biodegradable bags manufactured from renewable resources (cornstarch) & Australian made, as shopping bags for our customers at no charge.

Office Supplies

• Only 100% recycled paper is used with no adverse effects to the laser printers and photocopier. Each piece of paper is printed on both sides.
• Recycled toner cartridges are used in printers.
• Cash register ribbons are re-inked.
• Letterhead and business cards are printed on recycled Australian Made paper.
• Leftover paper & cardboard is recycled.
• Biodegradable cups are used in our water cooler.
• Stationery cupboard 'leftovers' are reused e.g. folders, in-trays etc.

Organic Waste

• Kitchen organic waste is collected in compost bins which are emptied into the 'Wheely Worm Composta'.  As the bins are lined with a biodegradable bag, the compost material and bag can be emptied into the compost bin together, making it cleaner & easier.
• Vacuum cleaner dust and the biodegradable cups from the water cooler are also 'fed to the worms'.
• The worm castings are then used in our new grasslands garden.

Co-Mingled Waste

• Plastic, glass, milk cartons etc. are collected in the kitchen using a co-mingle bin.

Other Waste

• A small bin is located in the kitchen for non-recyclable waste.  A biodegradable bin liner is used in this so that the bag breaks down when taken to landfill.

Manufacturing Waste

• All aluminium off-cuts are recycled and sold to metal recyclers. The money received is shared with all staff as part of the annual Christmas function!

Other

As part of Earth Basics' commitment to the environment:

• Cloth tea towels & hand towels are used instead of paper towels.
• Envirocloths (microfibre chemical free cleaning) are used for showroom cleaning.
• Enviro-mop is used to clean concrete floors (chemical free cleaning).
• Enviro kitchen cloth for the kitchen sink is used.

Electricity

• Our office fitout has been dual wired so when the lights are turned off at night so does the mini-boil hot water service, calculators, water cooler - everything except the computers and fridge.
• All computers are turned off at the power point each night.  Only the server and fax is left on.
• The thermostat on the hot water system has been turned down to a lower level that is still sufficient for hot water needs, but does not heat the water to unnecessary high levels.
• Compact fluorescent tubes have been installed in lights wherever possible.
• Standby is activated on the photocopier when not in use during the day and turned off at night.
• Energy saving features are activated on computers so that monitors switch off & computers power down after a period of non usage.
• Our microwave oven has no LED display to reduce unnecessary energy consumption.
• Our kitchen fridge is 10* energy efficient - 'Vestfrost', approx 210kw per year.

Heating & Cooling

• We have installed a solar hot air collector.  This pumps out hot air when the sun is shining up to 40 ^o C using a 75 watt fan.  This is supplemented by a gas wall furnace.  We estimate up to 60% energy saving per year.
• In summer the reverse occurs.  The solar collector pumps in cool air (overnight) supplementing the air-conditioning system.

Water

• Plumbing is maintained to ensure toilet cisterns and taps do not leak.

Company Car

• Toyota Prius Hybrid Electric 800-1,000 km per 45 litres of fuel.

Environmental Savings

• less waste to landfill
• less trees chopped down
• reduced water demand
• reduced CO2 emissions
• recycling of aluminium, glass and plastics