Waste Showdown: Vote on the 16 most wasteful things in your life
DH Vancouver StaffJun 09, 2015 10:02 am
You turn off the water while brushing your teeth and flick off the light when you leave a room—“aren’t I being green enough?” you ask yourself. Well, you’re definitely making a valiant effort. But there are still some sneaky wasteful items that rear their ugly heads in your everyday life, despite your best efforts.
BC Hydro has taken it upon themselves to uncover these items in their Waste Showdown, and they need your help. Last week, they looked at 32 of the most wasteful things, you voted, and they’ve arrived at the Sweet 16. Now they need your votes again—you can vote here!
Here’s a quick recap of the first round:
Single-use grocery bags are definitely a no-no
There was a close battle between screen time competitors, with leaving the TV for your pet just slightly edging out watching the holiday fire log non-stop
Having a second fridge was a clear winner, beating out incandescent light without contest
Perhaps, most surprisingly, voters felt that driving around to try and get your baby to sleep wasn’t nearly as wasteful as a solo commute to the office—even though the latter is clearly a more committed offense
padu_foto / Shutterstock
With that in mind, we’ll leave it to you, the voters, in the next round to see which wasteful item is the winner (or in this case, loser). Here are the Sweet 16 matchups:
TV left on for pets vs. game console left on
Upgrade phone every year vs. desktop computer
Long, hot showers vs. drafty doors and windows
Second fridge vs. heat left on overnight
Solo commutes to the office vs. non-recyclable batteries
Bottled water vs. Using the drive-through
Plastic grocery bags vs. Paper coffee cups and sleeves
Disposable mops and cleaning cloths vs. recyclables put in garbage
silabob / Shutterstock
Ready to vote? Head over here to cast your ballot in the Sweet 16 round. You can also look for updates on Twitter @PowerSmartBC and join in the fun yourself using #WasteShowdown. Stay tuned for the Elite 8—which wasteful battles will be the closest? Find out next week!
Sign Up to our Newsletter for exclusive content, contests, and perks.
DH Vancouver Staff
Daily Hive is the evolution of Vancity Buzz, established in Vancouver in 2008. In 2016, the publication rebranded and opened newsrooms in Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal. Send story tips to [email protected]