Top tips to go green

It's easy to be green - not only are you helping to look after our fragile planet, but it can often save you money as well. If you're looking for some inspiration on how to be more green, then here are some of our top tips:

Food

• #WorthSaving: The Hertfordshire-wide #WorthSaving campaign raises awareness of how reducing edible food waste can save households up to £720 per year. The WorthSaving website has a wealth of information about how you can change your kitchen and shopping habits, such as writing meal plans, storing food correctly and tips on using leftovers.

• Surplus food: lf you find you have bought too much food and will struggle to eat it before the 'use by' date, you can give away your unopened food using OLIO, the local food-sharing revolution, give it to a Community Fridge or donate it to a local food bank.

• Reduce your meat intake: Animal agriculture is one of the leading contributors to climate change - it produces more greenhouse gases than all of the world's transportation combined. Reducing your meat intake will lower your carbon footprint and help the planet. Whether you want to be a reducetarian, pescatarian, vegetarian or vegan, you will find these websites useful for providing further information and advice: Veganuary, Meat Free Mondays, Reducetarian, Vegan Society.

• Grow at home: If you are able to, growing your own food is a great thing to do for a range of reasons; you get free food, it's a rewarding hobby with proven mental health benefits, you get to eat organic food which healthier for your family, you can put your compost to good use and you won't be using any packaging!

• Buy organic: Organic farming works with nature and supports biodiversity and a healthy ecosystem. Organic food is often nutritionally better for you and your family as well.

• Choose sustainable sources: Scientists have predicted that due to declining fish populations and increasing pollution, there will be more plastic in the sea than fish by 2050. If you do choose to eat fish, ensure that you are eating species which are being sourced sustainably - the Marine Conservation Society has a Good Fish Guide to help you choose which ones to buy. 

• Buy local and eat seasonal: Buying seasonal food locally not only lowers your food miles, but is also a great way to reduce the amount of packaging used, while also supporting local businesses. Find out where your local market is and head there to stock up on fruit and veg.

• Start a compost bin: This is a great way to convert any food and garden waste you have at home into fabulous fertiliser for your garden - even better if you are growing food at home. For more information, visit our home composting page.  

Reduce, reuse, recycle

• Reduce: As a consumer, you have the power to reduce the amount of waste you generate by buying products that contain less packaging, and which can be easily recycled. For example, buying loose fruit as opposed to a pre-packaged fruit bag, or even buying refill items, such as fabric softener.

• Remember your reusables: There are plenty of reusable alternatives to single-use - find out more on our Reusables page.

• Borrow or buy used: Second-hand doesn’t mean second best! Producing new items requires lots of resources and energy and leads to a lot of pollution and waste. You can find some amazing products in places such as libraries, car boot sales and charity shops, some of which have websites. You can also check online marketplaces, such as eBay, or online community pages and Facebook groups.

• Give items a new life: Whenever you are having a clear-out, make sure you give items a new life where possible by selling or donating them instead of throwing them away. Either take them to charity shops or try websites such as eBay, Gumtree and Freecycle. There are several Facebook community groups, too. 

• Repair: Seek to repair an item rather than buying new. This will save you money and avoid wasting resources. There are lots of online tutorials available on websites such as YouTube or WikiHow that can help you to fix things. There's also a new Repair Cafe on the first Saturday of every month at the Open Door Community Hub, Berkhamsted. Just drop in with anything that needs fixing and the team of experts will be happy to help.

• Recycle right: Familiarise yourself with our bins pages so that you know exactly what can go in each container to ensure that you are recycling all that you can, and not contaminating a bin with the wrong material.

• Multiple recycling bins: Around 50 per cent of recyclable bathroom items are sent to landfill because they're put in the normal bin. Putting extra recycling bins around your home, such as in bathrooms, bedrooms and living rooms makes recycling easier and helps make sure these items can always be recycled. You can also try refillable shampoo, conditioner, soap and other bathroom products. 

• Buy recycled: If you buy a product made from recycled materials you are building on the number of consumers that are choosing recycled products over 'virgin material' products. The more people that do this, the more companies will invest in buying recycled materials.

• Read news online: The UK uses a woodland the size of Wales every year in paper usage. Switch from buying newspapers and magazines to reading news and features online instead.

• Opt out of junk mail: Unsubscribe from unwanted post and use the free Mailing Preference Service to prevent junk mail reaching your door.

• Upcycle: Upcycling is a great way to reuse an old item by giving it a new purpose so that it can have a new lease of life - whether it's a toilet-roll tube or a table. Websites such as Pinterest or Upcycle That can provide great inspiration and simple guides on how to get creative with a range of household or garden items.

Caring for your local environment

• Litter: You can help care for your local area by doing a litter pick - remember to carry a recycling bag and a litter bag so that you can separate the litter you collect and dispose of this responsibly. Each year there is a national litter pick called the Great British Spring Clean, which you can sign up to take part in. If you'd like to litter pick more regularly, you can also become a Street Champion and get your very own kit.

• Give nature a home: We are currently living in the sixth mass extinction period - known as the Anthropocene - because it is driven by humans. But we also have the power to help stop this. By giving nature a home in our gardens we can help to support the valuable species that form our delicate ecosystems.