LIVING GREEN BLOG
THE SIMPLE SIX You might not be ready to go all Richard Briers in The Good Life just yet, but there are some effective steps you can take towards a greener lifestyle that will cost you only a tiny amount of time, money and effort. John-Paul Holden runs down the six things everyone should attempt
1 STOP JUNK MAIL Delivery of unwanted, unsolicited mail is illegal. For information on stopping it (and reducing the 550,000 tonnes of paper and 16.5 billion litres
of water used in its production), visit www.stopjunkmail.org.uk, which offers advice on simple but effective measures such as letterbox stickers, choosing not to receive further promo information when buying products and returning unwanted mail. Registering with the Royal Mail’s door-
to-door opt-out (see optout@royalmail.com) and
the Mail Preference Service (www.mpsonline.org.uk) will
also help.
COMPOSTING BIN
2 START A Nourish your
garden, get free compost and put a dent in the volume of methane- emitting organic waste going to landfill. Starting and maintaining a compost bin is fun, it’ll get you outdoors and now is the perfect time to have a go. Compost Awareness Week (May 2–8) is not far away and Waste Aware Scotland is offering bins for as little as £8 as part of its Compost at Home
glasgowcarclub.co.uk or www.citycarclub.co.uk in Edinburgh. Schemes like these allow you to pay-as- you-go for car hire. Just pick up your runabout from a central city location and drop it off when you’re done.
4 BECOME AN ECO-DRIVER Making simple changes to your driving style can save money and petrol, and reduce wear and tear on your car. Some of these – driving
a little slower or switching off the engine if stationary for more than a minute – are common sense. But did you know that having a window open while travelling at speeds of 50mph or higher generates aerodynamic drag and adds to fuel usage? Take an eco-driving test at the Energy Saving Trust in Scotland website (www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Scotland).
YOU’RE USING AT HOME
5 MONITOR HOW MUCH ENERGY There can be few better motivations for reducing energy consumption than seeing
utility bills mount before your very eyes. Happily, today’s high-quality, easy-to-read energy and cost- display monitors will help you to do just that. Visit www.mygreenerhome.co.uk for a comprehensive selection of the latest gizmos, at prices to suit all budgets, from the Ecosavers Energy Monitor (costing a smidgeon over £12) to the chic and futuristic- looking Wattson Energy Meter (pictured, on offer at just under £100).
campaign (see www.wasteaware
scotland.org.uk for more info and general composting tips).
OR CARPOOL SCHEME
3 SIGN UP TO A LIFTSHARE Exhortations to walk, cycle or use public transport won’t alter the fact that, for those living far from work and without access to adequate bus and train services, ditching the car just isn’t an option. Happily, there are many sites that will match you with others travelling on the same route at the same time. Tripshare Edinburgh (edinburgh.liftshare.com) offers clear and comprehensive information for those throughout
Scotland looking to share cars or taxis. Or join a car club scheme like
6 AVOID USING PLASTIC BAGS Because they take centuries to decay, poison wildlife and look naff. Onya bags
(www.onyabags.co.uk) are made from parachute material so they’re extra strong and durable. You’ll be able to carry them anytime, anywhere as they scrunch small enough to fit into a keyring pouch or handbag (certainly not possible with standard supermarket reusables). Even better, they’re colourful and funky-
looking, and can be purchased
for as little as £5. Go shopping in style and
with your green credentials intact.
The List’s editor, Jonny Ensall, ditches bad habits in favour of a fortnight of green living
I am not the Earth’s best friend. If I’m honest, we rarely see eye-to-eye. My side of our relationship is based around a lot of taking and not much giving. I don’t offset my carbon emissions. I don’t recycle the waste that I create. And I must be in for some bad karma after that summer I spent clubbing seals.
All joking aside, my blissful ignorance of the harm my bad habits are causing the world has got to come to an end. Plunging in at the deep end, I’ve set myself up for two weeks of puritanical eco-living, and I’ll be blogging most days about my (hopefully) improving relationship with the planet.
For starters, I’m writing this while sitting in a pocket of super-heated air beside my living room’s 2200W convection heater. This, of course, has got to go. But how best to dispose of it? I could scrap it, but that’s hardly solving any problems. I could freecycle it but then I’d just be passing on my junkie-ish addiction to warm rooms onto another Earth-abuser. Still, I reason that the latter is the best course of action, so the heater’s going onto freecycle.org with a disclaimer: ‘Free to anyone who can prove it will be used responsibly.’ That moral dilemma solved, my next green
choice is an easier one to make. I’m chucking out the supermarket vegetables, with their chemically-enhanced, flawless finish and unnecessary packaging, and bringing in the organic food box, with misshapen veggies swimming in clods of honest muck. After a bit of research I’ve decided to order the £12 vegetable box from eastcoastorganics.co.uk. Smugness is the enemy of my progress,
so I’m now going to put on my itchiest jumper to atone for the winter months of illicit convected heat. Bring on salvation!
READ JONNY’S GREEN BLOG AT WWW.LIST.CO.UK/ GREENBLOG 18 THE LIST 15–29 Apr 2010