Other Ways to Help

Governments

• Governments and policy makers need to promote energy efficiency and encourage use of climate friendly energy sources
• Introduce taxes, standards and tradable emissions permits for businesses to encourage them to be more environmentally friendly
• Reward business and organisations who are being environmentally friendly
• Improve public transport links and encourage people to use these rather than using their own cars
• Turn out the lights and turn off electrical equipment when not in use
• Reduce use of heating in homes, by turning thermostats down by just a few degrees

Transport

• Don't use your car for short journeys - these are most polluting - walk or cycle
• Use public transport as much as possible
• Share car journeys with work colleagues or friends - up to a third of all car mileage is accounted for by the drive to work
• Walk your children to school or share a run with their friends - up to 20% of rush hour traffic is due to children being driven to school
• Choose a fuel-efficient / environmentally friendly car
• Turn off your engine when waiting in your car
• Make sure that your tyres are inflated correctly - this can save you 5% on the cost of your petrol
• Take off your roof rack / remove heavy objects from the boot when not in use
• Avoid accelerating (or braking) sharply as this uses fuel more quickly. Use lead-free petrol

Water

Inside:

• Use the plug in your basin or sink - don't leave water running unnecessarily
• Always wash a full load in your washing machine or in your dishwasher
• Fix dripping taps and make sure that they are turned off fully - in one week a dripping tap can waste a bathful of water
• Have a shower instead of a bath - an ordinary shower uses two-fifths of the water in a bath but power showers use 4 times as much water as a normal shower
• Fit a water saving device in your toilet cistern or fit an 'eco-flush'

Outside:

• Collect rainwater for watering plants
• Water plants in the early evening - less water will evaporate
• Water plants at their roots
• Avoid using sprinklers - they can use up to 1000 litres of water an hour!
• Select plants that don't need constant watering (ask at your garden centre for advice.)
• Don't use a hose pipe to wash your car - use a bucket instead

Waste

• Reuse as much as possible - envelopes, carrier bags… - in the UK we generate enough rubbish to fill the Albert Hall in just one hour
• Sell unwanted things or donate them to charity shops
• Recycle as much as possible (glass, cans, paper, plastics…) in the UK we recycle about 25% of our paper compared to about 60% in the rest of Europe
• Recycle organic waste by making a composter and use it on your own garden - up to 20% of household rubbish can be turned into compost
• Use 'terry nappies' and a nappy washing service rather than disposable nappies
• Speak to your council about recycling 'white goods'
• Stop excessive junk mail by visiting the Mailing Preference Service website - up to 60% of what comes through our letter boxes is never read
• Rather than have your bank and credit card statements sent to you by post - see if you can check them online instead
• Cut down on the number of brochures that you send off for

Shopping

• Make a shopping list so that you only buy what you need and are going to use
• Buy recycled goods and goods with recycled packaging (e.g. milk bottles can be recycled up to 100 times)
• Buy organic products
• Buy goods with minimal packaging
• Don't buy disposable / throw away goods when it is possible to buy goods that are durable
• Reuse shopping bags or take your own
• Use freezer bags when buying frozen goods so that your freezer has less work to do
• Buy refillable products and refills where possible
• Buy environmentally friendly cleaning and washing products
• Buy in bulk if possible
• Cut down on visits to shops by shopping more efficiently when you go
• Buy 'Fair Trade' goods
• Buy recycled paper or wood from sustainable forests
• Grow your own vegetables