R3project round-up 6: the Bathroom

As you can guess, in the bathroom it is most of all about water, and using as less as possible of it. Our showerhead and the tap of the sink have low-flow faucet aerators that mix the water with air. That way less water is used but you still get the effect of a full shower. The aerators are easy to install, and only cost around 3€, while saving up to 50% water! We believe it’s a must for all taps.

Toilets are also using quite a lot of water. We find it easiest to reduce the water consumption at this end by regulating manually how much water we need each time to flush. Our Stop Flush system by Roca, let’s you decide how much water you need each time; the first flush starts letting water down the toilet bowl and the second flush stops it. If you happen to forget or your guests don’t know this system, it simply stops after a full flush of 12 litres. Read about other options for water-saving flushing devices here.

The next things to keep in mind are the materials you use in the bathroom. Because of the contact with water and a higher humidity level in the air, natural materials are not always recommended for bathrooms. We decided to use the same locally produced tiles as in the kitchen, only in red instead of white and green. The walls around the bathtub and the sink are covered with recycled plastic slate tiles, also a Spanish product. You can read about this experiment here and here.

The bathtub was actually in the apartment when we started the renovation, and despite a few scratched that could easily be fixed, it was in perfect shape. It was however not easy to convince the workmen to use this old tub instead of buying a brand new one, even if they are cheap. Bathtubs and sinks create a lot of waste when they are thrown out, often only because of a change in fashion, and not becasue they are broken. That is why we decided to get the sink Kalahari by Roca, a locally produced sink, made of much less material than most other designs.

We are also avoiding the use of PVC, so the alternative to a shower curtain was a simple glass sheet: long lasting and easily recyclable. Mirrors are not especially eco-friendly objects, so the best thing you can do is get a second hand one. Last but not least, we keep our bathroom clean with some eco-cleaning action. Click here for some recipes for eco-friendly cleaning products you can make your self- and that work!

If you want to know more about the R3project, you can read the round-ups of kitchen, living-room, office, bedroom and general installations.

R3project round-up 5: the Office

The next room in our tour around the R3project is the studio, or office. Here we were able to restore the original floor tiles as they were in a much better shape as those in the rest of the flat, where we put down a cork floor and locally produced tiles. The proudest piece of furniture in the studio is no doubt the Steelcase Think chair, a masterpiece of Cradle to Cradle design, fully recyclable and very comfortable. We constructed the desk from a big piece of plastic and trestles we salvaged from the trash after a trade fair. The built-in cupboard is made from chipboard and has a wooden Venetian blind to close it. The ceiling lamp is a variation of our Bidon Lamp, made from a used jerry can. To not loose the overview, we use strips of natural cork to pin whatever projects we are working on.

Of the smaller gadgets we like the Voltaic solar bag which we use to charge our mobile phones and other small electronic objects. Of course we only use 100% recycled paper in our printer, and go to Cartridge World to have the cartridges refilled instead of buying new ones. This saves us money and waste. The stapless stapler is also a cool thing that every eco-conscious office should have. It staples sheets of paper together without staplers; watch a video of how it works here. This eliminates the metal staples that don’t do well in the paper recycling process.

For more ideas, check out the Planet Green Guide "How to be Green at Work".

Also check out the R3project round-ups for kitchen, bedroom, living room and general installations around the apartment.

R3project round-up 4: the Bedroom

We listed everything we did in order to live a more sustainable lifestyle around the house, the kitchen and the living room, so this week we concentrate on the bedroom.

Because it is the place we probably spend most hours in, a third of your life they say, it is important for us to keep it free of toxins. Like for all the walls in the apartment, we used non-toxic, eco-friendly paints in the bedroom too. The floor is also the same as in the rest of the home; natural cork by Wicanders.

When it comes to furniture, all we have in the bedroom is the bed and a wardrobe. The bed is one we still had from previous places we lived in, so no need to throw it out. If you need to get a new bed though, look for FSC-certified wood for the frame and a non-toxic mattress.

The same goes for pillows. A lot of pillows are made from synthetic materials and often derive from petroleum, a non-renewable resource that is also extremely flammable; not exactly what you want to sleep on. In order for pillows not to be flammable, they are treated with brominated fire retardants, that have been proven to cause liver, thyroid, and neurodevelopmental toxicity. Another thing to watch out for with pillows is the allergies they might cause due to the house mites they can accommodate. We opted for natural latex pillows, but check out Planet Green’s guide to pillows for other eco-friendly and healthy options.

The wardrobe our carpenter Rodrigo crafted is made from OSB, an engineered wood that contains very little resin. You should still watch out that the resin it contains, generally under 5%, is not formaldehyde. If you are wondering what the humps on the outside of the wardrobe are; they are StuffBumps. The StuffBump, designed by Petz Scholtus and Graham Hill, is an eco-friendly storage solution, made in the prison of Barcelona. More information on Pöko Design / StuffBump.



As far as textiles are concerned, bed linen, curtains, etc., organic cotton is probably the most eco-friendly and also the best available option. TreeHugger explains:

Organic cotton is the version of its conventional counterpart grown without pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, chemical fertilizers or any other chemicals, and that makes it hugely different, especially considering that cotton (organic or otherwise) provides about half of all the world's fiber needs. Conventional cotton is one of the most chemically-dependent crops, sucking up 10 percent of all agricultural chemicals and 25 percent of insecticides on 3 percent of our arable land; that's more than any other crop per unit. […] 20,000 deaths occur each year from pesticide poisoning in developing countries, many of these from cotton farming, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Last but not least, use low energy light bulbs for your bedside table lamp and ceiling light. If you are interested in other products for the bedroom, check out Matteria’s good+smart textile section. To know more about how to detox your bedroom, go to Planet Green’s Detox Your Home: Bedroom.

R3project round-up 3: the Living Room

After the general eco installations around the home, and, how to green your kitchen, this week we will concentrate on our living room, a place for resting, eating, and sharing with guests.

Walk on it
The first thing most people notice when stepping into our living room is the rather unusual cork floor. We have had it now for almost 3 years and are still very pleased with it. The first meter in front of the entrance door is a coconut fibre carpet to wipe shoes of when entering. It’s fully biodegradable and made from a renewable material. Shoes go into the TRONES shoe cupboard units by IKEA, made from Polypropylene, a 100% easily recyclable and very durable plastic. In winter, we then slip into some snugly felt slippers made from 100% wool, available at Matteria. Our feet also like the Nani Marquina rug in front of the sofa, made from 100% renewable and biodegradable materials. These beautiful rugs are ethically produced in Nepal, Pakistan or India.

Have a seat
For the R3project, we like to use reclaimed objects, as long as they look good, and we like it recycled as long as the quality is up for it. So in our living room you can have a seat in one of the second hand armchairs, or get really comfortable in the WASTE pouf, made from recycled textile from the car industry. The latter is also locally produced, giving work to women in social reintegration centres.

Second time around
Seats are not the only objects that had another life before entering the R3project. From our glass dinner table, to mirrors and ceiling lamps, we managed to hunt down quite a few cool second hand products. There is also an old car tire mould that had been transformed into a curious looking flowerpot, and not to forget the Bidon Lamp, made from a used jerry can (and easy to make yourself).

Better storage is more space
To make use of a space right in front of the kitchen, we built the ‘Never-Empty Shelf’ out of FSC-certified MDF (although later we got hold of some OSB which we prefer to MDF because it contains less resin).

All in all, we like objects made from few and easily identifiable materials, to ensure that they can either be industrially recycled or returned to the earth at the end of their lives. We also care about choosing products that last longer, both technically and emotionally, and it is important to us to know where they come from and who made them. Last but not least, we love stuff made from a recycled material, as long as the design, the quality or the cost have not been compromised.

R3project round-up 2: the Kitchen

Our kitchen is an open one, and forms part of the living room, because we like to cook with our friends around.

KITCHEN FLOOR
The kitchen area is defined by a change of flooring. The cork floor of the rest of the apartment gives way to funky green and white tiles. We tried hard to find some local tiles made from recycled TV screens, but because the company went bust, we decided on some local colourful tiles by TAU Ceramics, whose effort towards sustainability we appreciate.

FURNITURE & STORAGE
The kitchen cupboards are made from recycled wooden wine boxes, carefully assembled by our amazing carpenter Rodrigo Diaz. The countertop is solid FSC-certified, untreated wood from IKEA. The same goes for the central piece of furniture called FÖRHÖJA that serves as storage and extra work surface. As a storage solution for the upper parts, we chose GRUNDTAL, fully recyclable stainless steel shelves from which you can also hang things like pots and pans. We prefer this system to cupboards for both aesthetic and practical reason, plus they are made from a minimum amount of materials.

WATER USAGE
As far as saving water is concerned, we installed a very special low-flow tab by Tehsa. We are still trying to fit in a dishwasher, as “the dishwasher uses only half the energy, one-sixth of the water, and less soap, to boot”, according to one study at the University of Bonn in Germany. However, as you can read in 'dishwasher versus hand washing' on TreeHugger, the situation is not as black and white. We are also looking for a water filter to drink the currently not very nice tasting water from the tab and stop buying plastic bottles. This has turned out to be a difficult mission, any tips are appreciated!

ELECTRICITY USAGE
We also try to use as less energy as possible. CFL lights illuminate our kitchen, and all the necessary electric appliances such as the fridge, oven and cooking surface, are A+ energy efficient.

THE FOOD
Of course you can’t have a kitchen without the food. Our fresh produce comes in a box every 2 weeks: 10 kg of locally grown, non-chemically treated vegetables and fruit from Recapte. All leftovers are fed to the worms in our compost bin on the balcony. To serve ourselves meals, we use fully recyclable glass plates.

CLEANING PRODUCTS
Last but not least, we like to clean green. Most of our eco cleaning products are mixed together in the kitchen, or at least stored under the sink.

More:
R3project round-up 1: General Installations at Home
R3project round-up 2: the Kitchen