The city of Cape Town has published a SMART living handbook as part of the city’s campaign to save water, cut power consumption, reduce and recycle waste, and save the earth. We think it’s great that Cape Town is putting its money where its mouth is, and actively promoting environmentally-friendly lifestyles!

At the moment, the city has only distributed copies of the handbook to their employees, but read further for an electronic copy of your own. Those employees who make the biggest energy and water savings will win prizes in the form of solar water heaters, grey water systems and worm bins.

The publication covers four major areas... waste, energy, water and biodiversity. The aim of the handbook is to create awareness and encourage the individual to make a difference, and in each of the four sections, there are practical steps that help you save money, improve the safety of your home, fight poverty and climate change, improve air quality and protect the environment.

It’s a brilliant handbook. Whilst the design might not be cutting edge, the manual gives excellent step-by-step guidelines and explanations about living sustainably, and deserves as much promotion as possible. It’s a requisite reference manual for every household.

Tools include a quick hazardous waste audit, a household electric appliance audit, an estimate of your household’s carbon emissions, a mini water audit, steps on how to become a recycling home, how to install a dual-flush system into your toilet cistern, and a list of contacts and resources for each of the four sections – waste, energy, water and biodiversity.

Copy of the smart living handbook