20 ways to live a greener life
Top tips to help you cook, shop and clean in a more eco-friendly way.
Go for homegrown
1. Try to buy homegrown produce - unless it's food that can't be grown in the UK, such as mangoes and bananas. A typical basket of 20 everyday grocery items from a supermarket could clock up over 100,000 'food miles' if you include air-freighted goods, such as sugar snap peas from Kenya, Danish bacon or New Zealand apples. Food transport is a major contributor to greenhouse gases and global warming, so stick to the best of UK-grown seasonal food if you can.
2. Shop local
Get to know your local shops and market. We lost a fifth of our local shops and services in the five years up to 2002, because we didn't use them. Buying food locally supports your local economy and cuts down on fuel costs as you don't have to drive to out-of-town superstores.
3. Use less packaging
Around one-sixth of your food shopping bill goes towards the packaging. So avoid pre-packed fruit and veg in plastic bags and make the most of farmers' markets, greengrocers and box schemes, where packaging is kept to a minimum. And recycle - if you don't, it ends up in landfill, which currently produces up to 25 per cent of all UK methane emissions.
4. Buy the good wood
When buying kitchen accessories, furniture and other wood products, try to pick environmentally friendly wood items carrying the Forest Stewardship Council logo - the only internationally -recognised standard for sustainable forestry and wood products.
5. Choose organic wisely
Organic farmers work with nature to protect the environment. Artificial chemicals and the routine use of antibiotics are prohibited. The downside is that around 56 per cent of the organic produce sold in the UK is imported. So, faced with organic beans from Kenya or conventional UK grown beans, it's actually greener for you to buy conventionally grown. Using a local box scheme should ensure that more of the organic produce you buy is UK-grown. Visit the Soil Association for more information.
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