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Liquid Refreshment

15

Jul

Water Down the Drain

Jacob Gaffney  in Health, Living

In a survey on showering habits of western Europeans, the British are the most water wasteful and care the least about any negative environmental effects from their shower gel, shampoos and soap usage.

And in particular, the women in Britain are especially guilty of wasting shower water and not caring about contaminants, says the report for the Royal Society of Chemistry.

The most glaring contrast in the survey shows that only 35% of British men give thought to contaminants compared nearly two-thirds of Spanish women who do care about them.

The French and Spanish emerge most commendably from the survey, demonstrating greater restraint in water conservation and concern about washing contaminants into the water system, when compared to British and German adults.

Also, adults in Western Europe are most likely to shower for between two and five minutes, indicates the report.

“It’s an embarrassment that the British appear to be a right shower when it comes to caring about water. We are an island surrounded by water and criss-crossed by rivers but also highly and densely populated,” said Richard Pike, chief executive of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

“We must not wait until the 59th minute before we tackle impending environmental disasters. Are we so short-sighted that we act only when the consequences are already upon us?

“We have to take on board the critical message that water is a precious resource and in the years to come it is going to become increasingly scarce. We can save water massively by using less when washing, without compromising hygiene.

“One should be able to shower thoroughly in a couple of minutes; we hear stories of people staying in the shower for half an hour at a time, which is absurd and self-indulgent. They say that it helps them relax.

“Well, if we had a population of five million and not 60 million such self-indulgence might be tolerable.

“But today, with the world facing water shortages, that simply doesn’t wash.”

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