Wednesday 15th July, 2020 Water Blog

Carbon Footprint – washing the car

Water, is a natural resource.  It is critical to everyone’s life, and it is of course a free commodity. However, its collection, treatment and distribution, as well as the treatment of wastewater before it is returned to nature, require technical, financial and human resources.  These have a cost.

It is reported that energy used to move, treat, distribute, and use water produces nearly 290 million metric tons of CO₂ annually. This equates to CO₂ produced annually by 53 million cars.

The energy required to provide water to a running tap for 5 minutes is equal to that needed to light a 60-watt bulb for 14 hours.

So, when you are thinking about washing your car – consider the incredible savings in energy-related CO₂ emissions, when you replace your hose with a basin and sponge.

Using a bucket and sponge to wash a car, and then rinsing with a power washer is the most water-efficient method, using less than half as much water compared to a hose – saving a lot of water, energy and carbon.