Water

Household Replacing incandescent light bulbs with energy efficient LED or com-

pact fluorescent lamps

>75-80% less energy whilst lasting 25 times longer

>Cost reduction

High-energy rated appliances

>Refrigeration, A/C Units, Stove, Washing Machine

>Hot Water system hooked up to solar thermal

Rock Wool Insulation

>reduce use of air conditioning through effective passive control of ambi-ent temperatures

>no running/maintenance costs or emissions

“ When I was a kid growing up, one of the things that my uncle taught me was to make dugouts out of wood. I was really young

then. We rigged the dugout canoe up full the way they used to have it, the traditional sailing canoe. And we used to go out fish

ing, mainly around the home reef on Murray. Then after a while he'd pull the sails down and we just used to paddle, paddle out

with outriggers on it.” - Eddie Mabo

Advantages Disadvantages

Zero emissions 100% Renewables Contingency built in/no reliance on one source Long Lasting

High Capital Operation and maintenance technical expertise Subject to solar and wind resource availability

Energy Supply— 100kW PV,10kW Wind,500kWh battery Mini-grid

approximately 100m2 of solar PV panels

produces 153MWh annually

Existing diesel generators for redundancy/maintenance

Tidal opportunities

3 Bin System: Recycle, Compost, Landfill In combination with new centralised Recycling Facility Advantages: - reduces need for unsustainable incineration

- conserves natural resources

Disadvantages: - high initial cost setting up new facility

- recycling sites often unsafe and unhygienic

Recycling Initiatives: 25c scrap plastic bottles and cans, paper shopping bags, weekly trade

market

Advantages: - easy to implement

- encourages recycling with money-rewarding feeling and minimises waste going

to landfill

Disadvantages: - community participation is required in an item/food exchange market

- increased purchase price of bottles/can products by 25c as well as

plastic bags which will no longer be free

Outdoor Turned Windrow Composting Facility using a front-

end loader for pile aeration

Advantages: - converts organic waste to stable compost in 3-

12 months

- low capital cost

Disadvantages: - labour-intensive

- poor maintenance of facility components

leads to bad odour and leachate contamination

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Projected water consumption & production

water production

water consumption

Current water consumption will not be sustainable

in the near future. It was estimated that by

around 2032 the supply system will not be able to

meet the demand assuming a 1% increase in pop-

ulation every year.

The challenge faced by

the community of Mer island

Rainwater

tank

Advantage:

Relatively easier to imple-

ment. (changing the old tap,

shower head, washing ma-

chine with Water efficient

appliances)

Minimal change to life-

style of resident.

Disadvantage:

the effectivity will de-

pend on the roof size

and gutter system.

little maintenance

required

Outcome Possible solutions

Water efficient

appliances

Advantage:

If tank is low, switching

back to the reticulated

system is possible to

maintain water supply.

Provides another water

supply for the household

Disadvantage:

Cost associated to

buying the appliances.

Takes time to import

appliances.

Septic tank

Advantage:

Most cost-effective form of on-

site treatment provided certain

conditions

Reliable with a long service life

Provides alternative water

supply for non drinking pur-

pose

Disadvantage:

Requires commit-

ment for mainte-

nance.

Produce a character-

istic septic odour

Recommended solutions:

1. Rainwater tank

2. Changing old appliances with new water

efficient appliances

With these methods implemented, a water

consumption saving of approximately 40% is

achievable. In addition, if other options such

as septic tank and reed bed system are imple-

mented, further savings will be possible.

Social Factors

Waste

Transport

Energy The commitment and support from the community is critical for the success of

the project. Some possible educational strategies to engage communities are:

Starting monthly educational workshops to highlight the importance of sustainability.

Set up a community consumption chart for water, energy and waste which is updated month-

ly. Establishes a constant performance feedback for the community to improve on.

Other social factors which must be considered for the success of the program are:

Issues and problems are expected when setting up new systems. Therefore, a clear chain of

command must be set up so any problem can be fixed smoothly.

Finding a suitable motivated, committed, and energetic champion for the project manager.

This person must also be well connected to the community to encourage people to embrace

the change.

The children are the future of the island. Intro-

ducing school programs are highly recommend-

ed. For example:

Monitoring household water usage or ener-

gy usage and trying to improve on it by

changing certain aspects. Encourages the

kids and households to think about sustain-

ability.

Starting a school farm (possibly chicken to

start off) to teach skills in raising livestock. It

will also work as a form of composting sys-

tem.

Get the kids involved!

For transportation, rather then looking into new technologies, the answer may be found in the past. Some potential

options for transport include:

Starting a new ferry

Advantage:

Reconnecting to past cul-

ture.

If wind power is used, es-

sentially zero emission for

operation.

Disadvantage:

High initial cost for pur-

chasing a number of diesel

cars.

Increase in vehicle result in

higher carbon flow in envi-

ronment

Car sharing

system

Advantage:

Purchase community car

and share that car between

the community. Lower cost

per person and minimise

environmental impact by

sharing a vehicle.

Disadvantage:

Require high level

of navigation skills

Limited cover area

Addition docking

require

Maintenance:

Short term Mid term Long term

Sustainability on Mer Island must be driven by the community in order for the project to succeed. The main sectors analysed are Energy, Transport, Waste and Water. Focusing on both minimising demand and consumption, various potential solutions are proposed.

Replacing Water efficient Appli-

ances (10 years)

Mini grid PV and Wind - 20 year service

life

Annual PV and wind turbine service

Annual service of portable can baler

Aerating the compost

Regular check up of septic tank

Enoch Chan z3378663, Stephen Fok z3463236, Tetsu Tabuki z3417969, Nicky Yu z3415862