Britain tops energy waste league
October 23, 2006
Britain is Europe's worst energy waster, with bad habits such as leaving appliances on stand-by set to waste £11bn by 2010, a study has claimed.
If current levels of wastage continue, then an extra 43m tonnes of carbon dioxide will be pumped into the atmosphere in that time, it added.
Leaving mobile phone chargers plugged in and lights on were among the most common energy-wasting habits.
The Energy Saving Trust surveyed 5,000 people across Europe for the study.
Figures in the Habits of a Lifetime report, commissioned to mark the start of Energy Saving Week, said 71% of UK consumers admit to leaving stand-by buttons on once a week.
Meanwhile, 65% of UK consumers leave chargers on once a week and 63% forget to switch the lights off when leaving the room.
The comparison with German consumers, who top the energy efficiency league, reveals major differences.
Britons leave chargers on three times as much as Germans, they leave stand-by buttons on twice as much and forget to switch off lights four times as much.
Almost half (48%) of Britons admit to using the car for short journeys rather than public transport, walking or cycling.
Gender gap
Philip Sellwood, EST Chief Executive, said: "As a result of this research, we are calling on the nation to undertake a series of daily habit-changing actions during Energy Saving Week.
"It is clear from the study we can't band everyone as `a consumer'. The aim will be to galvanise the nation into breaking their energy habits one by one."
Within the UK, a number of interesting statistics emerged concerning age and gender.
Both men and women admitted around 32 energy wasting actions per week although 20% of males felt no guilt compared to 9% of the opposite sex.
Mild guilt
The survey found 27% of those aged 65 and over felt no guilt about the energy they use and its impact on the local environment.
According to interviews with their parents, 72% of children aged 16 and under regularly leave the lights on and almost two-thirds always leave computers, TVs and stereos on standby.
However, around a quarter of 18 to 24-year-olds do feel moderately guilty about the impact their energy use has on the environment.
More than half of those surveyed (57%) said they would support the government introducing "environmental health" warnings on products which are not energy efficient while 49% believe more advice on energy efficiency should be available.
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