DIY

Designed by Malcolm Coxall

1001 Ways to Save the World

Free to read, free to reproduce

· General
· Paints, Preservatives and Solvents
· Buying and Maintaining Wood
· Disposing of DIY waste

YOUR choice!

Paints, Preservatives and Solvents

Tip 501	Why do it?	Do What? and How?	Is it Easy? Is it Green?
When decorating, don't buy too much paint.	Paints contain volatile solvents. When you paint the solvents evaporate and leave the layer of resins we call the paint finish. The solvents of conventional paints are damaging to the environment This is bad enough without having waste paint evaporate in the tin leaving a useless sludge. This is a waste of money, the energy to manufacture the wasted pain and damages the ozone layer.	What: Check what you need first and buy just enough How:	Green: Easy:

Disposal of waste Paints / Solvents

Tip 502	Why do it?	Do What? and How?	Is it Easy? Is it Green?
Dispose of waste carefully, especially paints and solvents.	Paints contain volatile solvents and pigments made out of all kinds of noxious metal based compounds like titanium, copper and chromium salts, many of which are poisonous. If you don?t dispose of paints correctly these heavy metal compounds enter the ecosystem.	What: Bring you waste paints and solvents to a proper recycle centre where they can be properly disposed of. You know you aren't going to use it and that it will just clutter up the garage so when the job is done just bring it away for disposal. How:	Green: Easy:

Use modern Eco paints

Tip 503	Why do it?	Do What? and How?	Is it Easy? Is it Green?
Use Eco paints without damaging solvents	Avoid Organic solvents - organic halogen based solvents damage the ozone layer, are toxic and quickly enter the food chain. Many are carcinogenic	What: Water based paints can be substituted for solvent based paints How:	Green: Easy:

Use preservatives on structural timbers

Tip 505	Why do it?	Do What? and How?	Is it Easy? Is it Green?
Maintain structural and outdoor wood properly so it doesn't need replacement so often	The longer wood lasts in a building the less trees your building will consume in replacement timber	What: Water based preservatives are available which are Eco friendly and effective. How:	Green: Easy:

Buy Wood ONLY from Sustainable sources

Tip 506	Why do it?	Do What? and How?	Is it Easy? Is it Green?
Never buy wood products made from endangered wood species like Teak and Mahogany unless these are certified from sustainable sources	Teak and mahogony are endangered timber species.	What: There are plenty of excellent substitutes for endangered tropical hardwoods How: Check the content of the wood you are busing for your DIY job, especially plywood and other laminates and composites. If there is any doubt that they are hardwood based then ask or just look elsewhere. The FSC (Forestry Stewardship Council) certifies timber from sustainable sources and is the ONLY authority to be trusted. Look for the FSC label before buyion ANY timber.	Green: Easy:

Decoration and DIY