The Sustainable Mandurah Home

the home >> background >> impacts of housing on the environment

The majority of houses in Australia are poorly designed, working against the climate, rather than with it. They use far more water than is required, are energy inefficient, and are often made of materials that damage the health of the inhabitants, as well as the environment.

Water lies at the core of Mandurah’s identity. Our beaches and rivers support the great quality of life we enjoy, both in terms of our recreation and our livelihoods. Conserving our current water supplies and preserving the health of our rivers and waterways must become priority to ensure a healthy, sustainable environment and access to fresh, clean water for future generations.

For more information on using water more efficiently in your home.

With over 18,000 occupied homes in Mandurah our residential community is producing more than 270,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases every year. Unless we manage to find ways to be more careful and efficient with our energy use, this figure is likely to more than double in the next 10 years putting massive pressure on the local and global environment.

For more information on using energy more efficiently in your home

The planned increase in the Mandurah population will significantly increase the amount of waste going to landfill. Unless every household, business and school commits to minimising waste through reducing consumption, reusing items where possible and recycling what is left, further local sites will need to be cleared for landfill purposes.

For more information on being waste wise in your home.

Impacts of WA housing on the environment

Water usage in the home

We live in the driest inhabited continent on the planet. Yet the average West Australian household uses 1259 litres of water every day, that’s enough water to fill ten swimming pools each year. Water use in our homes has increased by 55% since 1982. More than half of this water is poured on to our gardens. It’s also used in our bathrooms and toilets, for clothes and dish-washing, in swimming pools and is wasted through leaking pipes and appliances.

Less rainfall in the Southwest Region of WA, coupled with our growing population and careless use of water is leading to severe water shortages that are likely to threaten the health of the ecosystem and, as new, fresh water resources are accessed, could dramatically increase the price of water to the average West Australian household. By the year 2031, Perth is expected to need an extra 150 gigalitres of water.

Energy

Every year Australia’s 7 million homes contribute over 20 percent of Australia’s climate-changing greenhouse gas emissions. That’s over 15 tonnes of greenhouse gas per home per year. Greenhouse gases are produced from activities such as heating, cooling, cooking, lighting, driving a car, running appliances and rubbish disposal. Further emissions are created in the building and furnishing of our homes.

Our household emissions are contributing towards global climate change.

Waste

Australians generate almost 14 million tonnes of rubbish every year at a cost in excess of $1250 million to taxpayers.

In WA the rate of rubbish disposed per person is much higher than the national average at 1.4 tonnes per person every year! More than half the waste thrown out by WA households is from green waste, from food scraps and gardens. In addition to domestic rubbish, further waste comes from the materials used or discarded during the building of your home and in manufacturing processes. All waste in Australia that is not recycled ends up in landfill.

Landfills are not only unpleasant and unsightly, they also emit potent greenhouse gases, contaminate groundwater and soil and attract vermin which can spread disease.