Dishwashers make more pollution than cars

SUVs are not the only polluters

By PH Staff / Tuesday, 17 May 2005 / Loading comments

Nasty carbon dioxide generator

You make more CO2 when turning on the dishwasher than you do driving a Range Rover Sport one kilometre. That's the conclusion of a Daily Telegraph motoring section survey, which found that one cycle of a kitchen dishwasher releases into the atmosphere about 765g of carbon dioxide, which is twice that made by a Range Rover turbo-diesel, at 299g per kilometre.

An hour driving a petrol lawnmower increases CO2 emissions by over 1,000g, while flying a family of four to Florida's DisneyWorld adds 2,415,000g.

According to the report, road transport contributes about 20 per cent of the UK's total CO2 output but, globally, only 2.5 per cent is created by humans. Road transport accounts for five to 10 per cent of that, so if we were to stop driving today, we would still be left with 99.9 per cent of the CO2 that envelops the planet.