Attitudes to conservation and water consumption

Urban futures and the code for sustainable homes

“…For example, garden watering is dependent on season, garden size, flower/ shrub type and stage of growth, density of planting (Roebuck, 2007) and the technologies used to water them -for example, an unregulated sprinkler system versus drip irrigation versus a watering can. Likewise, water used for car washing is related to car ownership and the many options for washing cars -for example, a drive-in washer system versus a home jet wash system versus a bucket of water and a sponge (Randolph and Troy, 2008).…”

An Analysis of Domestic Water Consumption in Jaipur, India

“…Browne et al [35] believe that these approaches should be less reliant on changing people's attitudes towards water and the environment and more focused on the different elements that make up practice. On the other hand, Randolph and Troy [42] stated that policies and rules play an important role in reducing household water consumption. They also argued that for acquiring better responses, the complexity of the forces shaping demand needs to be understood in the context of the sociodemographic composition of households in different kinds of dwellings, as well as the cultural, behavioural and institutional aspects of consumption.…”

“…People can be informed of the water scarcity, its associated issues and any inappropriate water use habits/behaviours; then they can be guided through appropriate direction towards more efficient water consumption. Randolph and Troy [42] proposed 13 actions for reducing household water consumption e.g. taking shorter showers, filling washing machine before using, reducing garden watering, and reducing car washing; it was shown that almost all of these actions are to some extent efficient.…”

Towards a sustainable use of water at home: understanding how much, where and why?

“…People tend to use water unconsciously, not referring to the use of water as an activity by itself, but as a tool to accomplish other activities (Gram-Hanssen, 2008;Medd & Shove, 2005a), whether related to hygiene (brushing teeth or washing clothes) or home care (gardening or mopping the floor), for pampering and relaxation (a nice bath after a long day of work) or even as a daily practice (the morning shower to 'feel fresh and awake'). Most of the time in today's rushing life, people are not fully aware of the amounts of water consumed (Randolph & Patrick, 2008), nor in which activities they consume the most. Since water-related actions present no particular personal-significance, with the acceleration in modern life, referred by some as 'Time squeeze' (Hand et al, 2003), people often opt for the most convenient solution in terms of time and ease, rather than the best solution regarding performance or environmental consequences.…”

“…Clothes used to be regarded as protection of the body from dirt; whereas now, it is the body that seems to soil the clothes, as they are washed even if used only once and for a brief period of time and show no dirt, they are washed simply to get rid of the 'impurity' of the body (Shove, 2003). A curious fact related to convenience and 'time squeeze' appears when even if clothes are not really dirty, many people conveniently wash all clothes worn, from all members of the family, rather than separate dirty from clean (Randolph & Troy, 2008); and this of course increases the number of washes and resources wasted. This implies that the what (is washed), when and how, are not enough to understand the washing practice.…”