'Green granny' goes for it
By Wing Tan |
March 21, 2011, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A 60-year-old retired school teacher turns her small apartment in Pudong into an environmentally friendly zone where she grows plants, recycles water and writes her "green granny" blog. Wing Tan pays a visit.
It never occurred to 60-year-old Zhou Zheng that she would have hundreds of Internet fans who call her "the green granny," the title of her blog (http://blog.eastday.com/xxltjd/blog).
The retired middle school teacher from Shandong Province has become well known for sharing her DIY energy-saving devices at home.
"Living green and writing about it has become my new career after retirement and it's full of fun," says Zhou, an amiable woman with a hearty laugh.
"Living a low-carbon life should be in everyone's mind and doing little things can make a big difference," says the Pudong New Area resident.
Stepping into the green granny's home in the Linyi Neighborhood, one feels refreshed by the lush green plants and blooming flowers.
The windowsills in the living room and bedroom are neatly lined with pots of spider plants and the balcony flourishes with clover, daffodils and orchids.
"From what I've researched on the Internet, spider plants are good for health," Zhou says, adding it can effectively absorb many kinds of toxins in a room in 24 hours. These include carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide.
"Plants help create a green and healthy micro-environment and climate at home, plus it's such a beautiful plant with long leaves, making my rooms full of energy," she adds.
Almost every room has green gadget.
"It's fun," says Zhou. "What better way for a retired woman than to make a clean and healthy home?"
She first renovated her bathroom and washroom to save as much water as possible, saying more than 80 percent of water usage by an ordinary household comes from toilet flushing, bathing and doing laundry in a washing machine.
Her idea is simple - she recycles every drop used for personal washing and washing clothes and vegetables, and uses it to flush the toilet.
She does it with a 100-liter green plastic tank from the supermarket. Her engineer husband Qu Shengbo attached it 20 centimeters above the tank of the flush toilet and attached both tanks with a hose. The system works by gravity. Qu gives it two thumbs-up.
The washing machine is near the toilet, and Qu installed two water pumps that can pump the used washing machine water up to the plastic tank.
Zhou places a small basin in every sink in the washroom and kitchen and catches all the used water that goes into the toilet tank.
She says the new system has cut water consumption from 10 to 5 cubic meters each month.
"This is not much for a small family, but just think about everybody in Shanghai," Zhou says. "If the estimated 7 million households of Shanghai saved 5 cubic meters a month, that would equal around 35 million cubic meters saved. That's the equivalent of three West Lakes," she claims.
To clean the grease from the smoke exhauster, Zhou places a clean piece of tissue in the box and removes it when it's covered with dirty oil.
"You don't need to wash the box at all. It's easy and I can keep my hands away from strong detergent," Zhou says.
Even the empty milk cartons can be useful. She saves them, washes and dries them and then uses them to store food in the refrigerator. She says it's better than plastic storage bags that are often too thin and easily torn. "I can put soup, juicy dishes, shrimp and fish into the cartons," she says.
She also makes small dustbins out of plastic oil casks and wraps them in attractive paper.
Zhou moved to Shanghai 10 years ago from Shandong when her husband was transferred for work.
"The new environment and the hard-to-understand Shanghai dialect made the early days difficult," she recalls.
Then she learned how to use computer and surf the Internet, where she shared her daily life and small eco-green gadgets with others.
"Cyber space is really an eye-opener," she says. "I update my blog every day."
Out her window on the 22nd floor, she has a view of the Huangpu River and the World Expo Park.
"I'm in love with the city," she says. "I feel that I'm involved in great changes that take place every day. Now it's my home."
It never occurred to 60-year-old Zhou Zheng that she would have hundreds of Internet fans who call her "the green granny," the title of her blog (http://blog.eastday.com/xxltjd/blog).
The retired middle school teacher from Shandong Province has become well known for sharing her DIY energy-saving devices at home.
"Living green and writing about it has become my new career after retirement and it's full of fun," says Zhou, an amiable woman with a hearty laugh.
"Living a low-carbon life should be in everyone's mind and doing little things can make a big difference," says the Pudong New Area resident.
Stepping into the green granny's home in the Linyi Neighborhood, one feels refreshed by the lush green plants and blooming flowers.
The windowsills in the living room and bedroom are neatly lined with pots of spider plants and the balcony flourishes with clover, daffodils and orchids.
"From what I've researched on the Internet, spider plants are good for health," Zhou says, adding it can effectively absorb many kinds of toxins in a room in 24 hours. These include carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide.
"Plants help create a green and healthy micro-environment and climate at home, plus it's such a beautiful plant with long leaves, making my rooms full of energy," she adds.
Almost every room has green gadget.
"It's fun," says Zhou. "What better way for a retired woman than to make a clean and healthy home?"
She first renovated her bathroom and washroom to save as much water as possible, saying more than 80 percent of water usage by an ordinary household comes from toilet flushing, bathing and doing laundry in a washing machine.
Her idea is simple - she recycles every drop used for personal washing and washing clothes and vegetables, and uses it to flush the toilet.
She does it with a 100-liter green plastic tank from the supermarket. Her engineer husband Qu Shengbo attached it 20 centimeters above the tank of the flush toilet and attached both tanks with a hose. The system works by gravity. Qu gives it two thumbs-up.
The washing machine is near the toilet, and Qu installed two water pumps that can pump the used washing machine water up to the plastic tank.
Zhou places a small basin in every sink in the washroom and kitchen and catches all the used water that goes into the toilet tank.
She says the new system has cut water consumption from 10 to 5 cubic meters each month.
"This is not much for a small family, but just think about everybody in Shanghai," Zhou says. "If the estimated 7 million households of Shanghai saved 5 cubic meters a month, that would equal around 35 million cubic meters saved. That's the equivalent of three West Lakes," she claims.
To clean the grease from the smoke exhauster, Zhou places a clean piece of tissue in the box and removes it when it's covered with dirty oil.
"You don't need to wash the box at all. It's easy and I can keep my hands away from strong detergent," Zhou says.
Even the empty milk cartons can be useful. She saves them, washes and dries them and then uses them to store food in the refrigerator. She says it's better than plastic storage bags that are often too thin and easily torn. "I can put soup, juicy dishes, shrimp and fish into the cartons," she says.
She also makes small dustbins out of plastic oil casks and wraps them in attractive paper.
Zhou moved to Shanghai 10 years ago from Shandong when her husband was transferred for work.
"The new environment and the hard-to-understand Shanghai dialect made the early days difficult," she recalls.
Then she learned how to use computer and surf the Internet, where she shared her daily life and small eco-green gadgets with others.
"Cyber space is really an eye-opener," she says. "I update my blog every day."
Out her window on the 22nd floor, she has a view of the Huangpu River and the World Expo Park.
"I'm in love with the city," she says. "I feel that I'm involved in great changes that take place every day. Now it's my home."
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