tips

Our green tips will help you make a difference. You may not want to follow them all, but any positive change you make will help.

1. If you don’t want to receive direct marketing through the post, register to have your name removed from mailing lists at the Mailing Preference Service site.
2. Replace your most regularly used standard lightbulbs with energy-saving equivalents.
3. Buy locally-grown or locally-produced products wherever possible. Check out BigBarn for your local producers.
4. Stuck for presents? Why not give membership of Greenpeace, the Centre for Alternative Technology or another green organisation, a subscription to the Ecologist magazine or buy an acre of rainforest.
5. Replace washers in dripping taps.
6. If you have money to save or invest, choose an ethical bank, financial institution or investment fund.
7. In the garden, use natural, organic alternatives to pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers in the garden.
8. If you drive to work, leave your car at home one day a week and reduce your weekday car use by 20%! If you can’t walk or cycle, use public transport or arrange a car share instead.
9. Buy organic and Fair Traded products.
10. If you drive to a recycling point wait until you have a car full, or ask your neighbours if they have any items you can take.
11. Compost kitchen and garden waste. Not only will it cut down on the space we need to dump rubbish, it will also provide you with a useful end-product.
12. Turn your heating down by 1 degree, reduce the time it is on or turn down radiators in rooms you use less often.
13. Switch your electricity provider to a ‘green’ company like unit[e].
14. Stop using peat-based products.
15. Buy a shopping bag instead of using plastic bags from supermarkets, or re-use the bags around the home.
16. Make sure your home is adequately insulated; if not, use Warmcell loft insulation, which is made from recycled paper.
17. Don’t overfill your kettle; boil only the water you need.
18. When buying products made from wood, look for the Forest Stewardship Council’s logo; this indicates that the wood comes from a well-managed forest.
19. Your waste can have a value to someone else – take old clothes, books, toys and bric-a-brac to charity shops or car boot sales.
20. Ask your dentist or doctor if they would like old magazines for their waiting room.
21. Connect a diverter to your drainpipe and collect water for your houseplants and garden in a water butt.
22. Replace your washing powder or liquid with a ‘greener’ alternative, like those from Ecover, or try Eco-balls instead.
23. Only use the washing machine or dishwasher when you have a full load. If you have an economy cycle, then use this.
24. Switch off TVs, computers and Hi-fis when you aren’t using them
25. Take old batteries to recycling facilities; don’t throw them in the bin!
26. Make your car run as efficiently as possible by having it tuned regularly and making sure the tyres aren’t under inflated.
27. Look for water-based paints or those with low VOC ratings.
28. Refer to energy efficiency ratings when buying new electrical items.
29. If you find something that you think makes a difference, tell us, your friends, your family and your neighbours. If you tell ten people, who each tell ten others then pretty soon we’ll be making a real difference!