Category: All actions

Can you eat food that’s past its best before date?

white and brown eggs in a wire bowl

A best before date is different to a use by date, and misunderstanding them could cause you to throw away perfectly good food.

As well as wasting money, throwing away food wastes the energy that was used growing, packing and transporting that food to you, and could cause methane to be emitted from landfill as the food decomposes anaerobically. It’s a big problem – WRAP, the waste action organisation, estimates that waste in the UK food supply chain causes 36 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions every year[1].

So what’s the difference between a use by date and a best before date?

  • In the UK, use by dates indicate the likely date by which the food will probably go bad
  • Best before dates simply mean the food might not taste quite as good after that date, but it should still be safe to eat

If the packaging is undamaged and the food was processed safely to begin with, dry goods and tins can last months, or even years, past their best before dates.

However, use common sense. If your food looks, smells or tastes wrong, or if the container is swollen, damaged or leaking, don’t eat it.

Tips for using food past its best before date

We often eat vegan yoghurt, vegan cheese and vegetables that have gone past their best before dates, and our non-vegans regularly eat eggs, milk, cheese and yoghurt that are past their best before dates too.

But you still have to use your eyes, nose and common sense to judge whether your food is OK or not. Here are some tips for when food is probably safe, and when you shouldn’t risk it.

  • Just so we are very clear, you should not eat food that is past its use by date
  • Hard cheese, like cheddar, will probably last weeks longer than the best before date suggests; being left for long periods of time is part of the cheese-making process.
    It will last even longer if wrapped tightly in a beeswax wrap, because a beeswax wrap will keep the air away better than the original plastic packaging will.
    Even if your cheddar cheese has gone hard or mouldy on the edges, the middle is probably still fine.
    If you see white dots on the surface of dairy cheese, it’s probably not mould, but calcium lactate crystals – a sign that the cheese is flavourful and well-aged
  • Yoghurt and vegan yoghurt will probably last days past their best before dates. I’ve eaten it many times, but your constitution might be different. Don’t take chances if you are very young, old, pregnant or immunocompromised
  • Eggs last weeks longer than the best before date indicates. If you’re not sure about an egg, don’t throw it away; break it into an empty cup. If it’s gone bad, you’ll know immediately by the smell!
  • You shouldn’t eat food with an open texture (like bread and cake) if you can see mould on it. But if the food has a solid texture, like cheese, apples or carrots, you can cut out the bad bits and carry on
  • Potatoes and carrots last for weeks in the fridge or another cool dark place. Cut any green bits, sprouting bits or “eyes” off, and the rest should be fine
  • If you’re not going to finish a loaf of bread before it goes stale, slice it and freeze it in a bag together with a paper towel. You can take out one slice at a time and toast it, or defrost it all at once – the paper towel will absorb any moisture so the bread doesn’t go soggy.
    Alternatively, grate it or blitz it into breadcrumbs and use it as a topping for a pasta bake, to bulk out homemade burgers, for stuffing, or as a crunchy coating for nuggets
  • Some supermarkets have stopped putting best before dates on fruit and vegetables, so buyers aren’t discouraged from buying food that’s still good. That’s great, but unless you’re very good at organising, you can still use them in the wrong order at home, so the oldest ones go off anyway!
    You can avoid this problem by writing the purchase date on the packaging with a Sharpie, so you use the oldest food first
  • Tomatoes that are a bit wrinkly – but not yet mouldy – can be frozen, then roasted later on
  • Take great care with homemade items, like jams, preserves or pickles, which could have been made under non-sterile conditions and contain the botulism toxin. You can’t see, smell, or taste this toxin, which can be deadly even in small amounts. Do not take chances with home-made jams, preserves or pickles; refrigerate them and use them up quickly

Important:
Always use your own judgment. If food looks, smells or tastes wrong to you, or if the packaging is swollen, damaged or leaking, don’t eat it. In fact, if you are in any doubt at all, it’s best not to eat it. Definitely don’t take chances if you’re serving food to someone who is very young, very old, pregnant or has a compromised immune system.

Reference:
[1]Household waste prevention hub: Waste prevention activities – food waste data (2021) WRAP. WRAP. Available at: https://wrap.org.uk/resources/guide/waste-prevention-activities/food-love-waste-data (Accessed: March 23, 2023).

Image credit: photo by Natalie Rhea on Unsplash

Categories: All actions, Food, Saves money, Waste

How to use jam jars to freeze extra portions

three jam jars viewed from above containing dark brown and pale brown preserves on a wooden table with yellow marigolds to the left

Cooking from scratch is an important skill for living sustainably, but it takes a big chunk of time out of your day. It makes sense to cook more than you need, and then save the extra portions so you can have a quick meal another day.

You’ll need something to store the extra portions in. Jam jars are a perfect single portion size, infinitely reusable and store nicely in your freezer, but there are some important tips to do it safely.

How to freeze food in jam jars

  • Start saving your jam jars! Jars with wide necks are the easiest to fill and least likely to crack, but save all of them to begin with and replace them with better ones over time.
  • Jars with plastic, or plastic-coated, lids are better than metal ones, because frozen metal can hurt your fingers when you touch it. Protect your hand with a tea towel if you can’t avoid using a metal lid.
  • Soak the original label off the jar in warm soapy water. Some labels come off easier than others. If the label leaves a lot of glue behind and it won’t come off easily, it’s probably best to recycle the jar instead, as it will always stay sticky.
  • Make sure the jar is clean and dry. You might want to sterilise it in the oven or the dishwasher first, but we haven’t found this to be necessary.
  • Fill the jar with food. Leave approximately a 1-inch gap at the top of the jar to give the food room to expand as it freezes.
  • Write what’s in the jar, and the date, on a small sticky label or a reusable tag. Stick the label on the lid, or tie the reusable tag around the neck of the jar, so you know what’s in it later. Labels soak off lids better than they soak off glass jars, so stick the label to the lid to make your life easier later.
  • Liquids expand when they freeze, so put the lid on loosely to start with, otherwise the jar may crack as the food freezes and expands.
  • Now let the food cool down before putting it in the freezer, so your freezer doesn’t have to work so hard cooling it down.
  • Later, when the food is completely frozen, tighten the lid to stop air from getting to the food (you can do this when you next go in the freezer – you don’t have to set a timer).

How do I defrost food in jam jars?

  • Plan ahead when you want to use the food. Instead of defrosting it in the microwave, save energy by taking the jar out of the freezer the night before. Put it in the fridge and leave it to defrost overnight.
  • Heat the food in a saucepan or use it in a recipe. Make sure it’s completely warmed through.
  • If you have any leftovers after this meal, you’ll need to throw them away, because you shouldn’t freeze the food a second time.
  • After use, soak the label off by leaving the lid in a small amount of water for a few minutes. If you put the jar in the dishwasher without removing the label, you will get bits of paper stuck to all your crockery and in the filter.
  • Use the dishwasher to clean the jar and the lid, then store it with the lid on, ready to use it again.

Image credit: photo by Tina Witherspoon on Unsplash

Categories: All actions, Food, In Lockdown, Quick & easy, Saves money, Waste

How to shop sustainably at a zero waste shop, supermarket or online

Loose fruit and vegetables on a market stall

However lovely it might be, we can’t always buy our food direct from a local organic farmer. So how can you make the best choices from what’s available?

How to buy sustainably at the zero waste shop

dry goods bins at a zero waste shop

What does a typical zero waste shop stock?

A typical zero waste shop will stock:

  • Dry goods (flour, muesli, pasta & spices)
  • Washing and cleaning products (dispense-it-yourself clothes washing liquid, washing up liquid, vinegar, soap bars & laundry sheets)
  • Personal hygiene products (razors, sanitary towels, menstrual cups, shampoo bars, toothbrushes & tooth tablets)
  • Tins (vegan soup, beans, tofu & seitan)
  • Treats (sustainably sourced chocolate, vegan chocolate nibs, dried fruit & coated peanuts)
  • Household products (compostable bags & scrubbing brushes)
  • Sustainable gifts and cards
  • Plant based milks and nut butters, often made from scratch in the shop

What’s it like shopping at a zero waste shop?

Zero waste shops are usually run by passionately green people. They’re likely to be very knowledgeable about environmental issues and keen to encourage you, so it’s a great place to feel part of a “tribe”. You’ll be able to get advice on all sorts of green issues, from how to clean the interior workings of your washing machine, to which vegan chocolate is best.

You might be surprised to find that many items are cheaper at the zero waste shop, compared to the supermarket. That’s because you’re not paying for the packaging and branding. Spices and dried goods are likely to be very good value compared to what you’re used to.

How does shopping in a zero waste shop actually work?

  • Zero waste shops usually stock their dry goods in hygienic gravity-fed hoppers (so there’s no fear that someone else has sneezed on the food or rummaged around with dirty fingers).
  • On your first visit, you can either take your own containers or buy them from the store. Then you can re-use those containers on subsequent visits.
  • You buy your dry goods produce by weight, but they will deduct the weight of the container from the total so you don’t pay for that as well.
  • You’ll need to weigh your container before you fill it. There will be a set of scales in the shop or on the counter. You’ll probably need to write the weight on the bottom of your container with a Sharpie, and they should have one for you to use.
  • If you’re bringing your own containers, check out the size of the dispensing holes on the hoppers first, and bring a container with a suitably wide mouth (to avoid spilling food on the floor).
  • If you’re buying a large amount of dry goods (e.g. flour), use a paper bag to keep the weight down. The shop will probably have clean paper bags for that purpose.
  • The shop staff will be happy to show you how to dispense the produce.
  • They will also have towels to mop up when you inevitably dispense washing-up liquid onto the floor.
  • Go there last on your shopping trip, because washing liquid, muesli and flour get heavy really quickly.
  • Take several reusable bags so you can spread the weight across your shoulders and hands.
  • If you are lucky, they might even offer an online delivery service.

How to buy sustainably at the supermarket

loose kale and radishes on a supermarket shelf above vegetables packed in plastic

You can buy a lot from a zero waste shop, but there will inevitably be things you need from a conventional shop too. If you go to the supermarket and fill your own trolley, you have an advantage over online shoppers because you can see exactly what you’re buying.

  • Write a shopping list and stick to it, to avoid impulse buys or buying duplicates of things you already have.
  • Bring your reusable bags with you. Their critics say you have to use them hundreds of times before they’ve covered the cost of the water and energy used in their manufacture, but if you’re going to use them weekly for years, you’ve got that covered, no problem.
  • As you leave the house, put your shopping list inside your reusable bag. This makes it much harder to accidentally leave your reusable bags in the car.
  • If you’re buying food that you’re going to eat soon, or freeze, choose short-dated produce. This reduces the amount of food the shop throws away.
  • You can bring your own produce bags for loose fruit and vegetables (they don’t have to be fancy – a net bag or a reused clear plastic bag is fine).
  • If you eat cheese or meat, buy them from the deli counter to avoid unnecessary packaging.
  • If you can’t buy it loose, choose produce that’s packed in compostable or paper wrappers, cardboard trays instead of plastic trays, or glass jars instead of plastic containers.

How to buy sustainably online

close up of person wearing black gloves holding a red crate full of vegetables

If you buy your shopping online, you’ll have to rely on the descriptions on the website and learn as you go. But, it’s much easier to check the ingredients and see reviews from other shoppers.

  • Use an ethical online superstore to find products that tick all the sustainability boxes, but aren’t available in mainstream stores. Ethical Superstore has a great range of household goods, cleaning products and beauty products.
  • If buying online from a mainstream supermarket, choose one that delivers direct from your local store (e.g. Waitrose, Sainsburys or Tesco), or one that uses a local delivery driver who plans their route (like Riverford). That means your groceries aren’t being delivered from a central warehouse that could be hundreds of miles away (like Ocado) – an unforgivable waste of fuel and tyre wear.
  • If you’re buying an unfamiliar product, check the product description to see what it’s packaged in, and choose one that can be recycled. The photos can be misleading. Where possible, avoid plastic packaging, which can be recycled but often isn’t.
  • You can filter your search results so you only see vegan or vegetarian items.
  • Buying online from a list of favourites makes it easy to avoid impulse buys.
  • Choose a “green” delivery slot to minimise delivery mileage. (A green delivery slot means someone else who lives nearby has already booked a delivery in the same time window.)

Image credits:
Loose fruit and vegetables: photo by Jacopo Maia on Unsplash
Dry goods hoppers in a zero waste shop: photo by Benjamin Brunner on Unsplash
Vegetables on supermarket shelves: photo by Eduardo Soares on Unsplash
Delivery person holding a crate of food: photo by Liuba Bilyk on Unsplash

Categories: All actions, Food, Free, Quick & easy, Uncategorized

Better buses & trains – lobby for a sustainable transport policy

blue and white electric tram on an american street lined with red brick buildings

Why do we need sustainable public transport?

Road transport causes 11.9% of global greenhouse emissions[1], so developing sustainable public transport systems is essential if we are to prevent climate change.

While electric and (eventually) hydrogen-powered vehicles are better than petrol and diesel, they still encourage individual travel, which causes microplastic pollution from tyre wear and creates congestion. We need mass public transport systems that are fit for the future.

Imagine a public transport system that:

  • regularly connects all our villages and housing estates with town centres, employment areas and transport hubs
  • is affordable, maybe even free
  • is powered by renewable energy
  • is reliable
  • is regular enough that you can get rid of your car altogether and still get everything done

It could happen, with political will and significant investment, and it could create a lot of “green” jobs.

How can I help get a sustainable public transport system?

  • Write to your political representative asking for more routes, more frequent services and higher subsidies. (Feel free to use the text above to help compose your email.)
    While one letter won’t change anything, trust that your letter will eventually be one of thousands, evidence of a groundswell of public opinion that they can’t ignore.
  • Encourage other people to write as well.
  • Find out what bus services people in your area want, get actual numbers, and write to your local bus company asking for that route.
  • Set up or join a local on-demand bus service like HertsLynx, which allows anyone to travel anywhere they want to go in North & East Hertfordshire for very little cost.
  • Use it! Public transport routes are closing all the time because the government cut subsidies, so the routes aren’t profitable any more. Nearly-empty buses are loss-making, but full ones can still make a profit, so those routes stay open.
  • Encourage your teens to use the bus instead of Mum/Dad’s taxi service.
  • Encourage anyone with time on their hands to use the bus, to help keep the route open.
  • Find out if your local bus or train company has a user group and join it so you can influence local decision-making.

How can I contact my MP or political representative?

In the UK, you can find out who your MP is and how to contact them on They Work For You.

In the US, you can find out who your representative in Congress is here.

Reference:
[1] Ritchie, H., Roser, M. and Rosado, P. (2020) Emissions by sector. Our World in Data. Available at: https://ourworldindata.org/emissions-by-sector (Accessed: March 22, 2023).

Image credit: photo by Flor Nájera on Unsplash

Categories: All actions, High impact, Influence, Travel & commuting

Better decorating with eco friendly paint and flooring

bottom halves of two people wearing denim, they are holding hands and carrying used paintbrushes

Why is paint a problem?

Paint is made up of a cocktail of chemicals – each of which has a purpose, but causes varying amounts of environmental damage or health issues.

Problems include:

  • organic solvents (which are the liquid in which all the other components are suspended) give off volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as the paint dries and for months afterwards. VOCs have been connected to asthma, chemical sensitivity and sick building syndrome, are toxic and carcinogenic at high concentrations, and form ozone (but not in a good way) when they react with nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide in the air
  • the white pigment titanium dioxide (which is used to make the paint opaque) has a high environmental impact from its manufacture, including the use of scarce resources, high embodied energy (i.e. it takes a lot of energy to make it) and high emissions of carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, sulfur dioxide, various nitrogen oxides, methane and VOCs

So what are greener alternatives when decorating?

GreenSpec – “the foremost green building resource in the UK” recommends using:

  • water-based paint
  • paint with low levels of titanium oxide
  • paint with low levels of organic solvent

You may find that such paints don’t cover as well as you’re used to (there was a reason that stuff was in there), so be prepared to do an extra coat or employ a professional.

You can read a very detailed discussion of the environmental and health risks of paint on GreenSpec’s website. Their recommended paints include EarthBorn clay paint, casein-based paint (sadly not vegan) and Fragile Earth eco-paint (also not vegan).

Of course, paint’s environmental impact can also be reduced by decorating less frequently. A room can be made to last longer by:

  • gently cleaning marks with soapy water
  • touching up spots with spare paint
  • covering marks with paintings or decals (decorative stickers)
  • changing harsh lighting for softer lighting
  • just putting up with a tired room a bit longer

How can I make my flooring last as long as possible?

New floor coverings, like carpets and composite wood planks, also release gases for months after they’ve been fitted. Here are some ideas for delaying or avoiding the need for new flooring.

  • Make sure you always have carpet spot cleaner in the house to prevent permanent damage from spills and messes
  • Hire a carpet cleaning machine to shampoo dirty carpets
  • Cover worn or damaged areas with a rug
  • Some worn or damaged areas can be repaired or patched. Check out videos by skilled carpet repairers and lino repairers to see what’s possible before deciding whether or not a floor covering needs to be completely replaced
  • Small scratches in wood flooring can be repaired with DIY kits
  • Good quality wooden floors are designed to be sanded and re-varnished or sealed many times
  • Alternatively, appreciate the patina of an old floor and all the imperfections that come with it
  • Choose tiles for high-traffic areas
  • Fix felt pads to the bottoms of chair legs to prevent scratches
  • Worn flooring of all types can be taken up, and the best bits re-used in smaller or less important rooms (you’ll need to re-stretch the carpet for a good result)
  • If your room is more or less symmetrical, you might be able to turn your flooring around so the worn bits are underneath the furniture. You’ll have to patch in around door recesses and radiator pipes, and you’ll need to re-stretch the carpet. You probably still won’t get a good result, if we’re honest, but it might do in a small or unimportant room
  • Alternatively, you could move the furniture into new positions to hide the worn-out bits
  • Completely worn-out flooring can be used to suppress weeds in the garden

What are some sustainable flooring alternatives?

The range of sustainable flooring alternatives is increasing all the time. Here are some solutions you might not have considered before:

  • Wool carpets
  • Treadmore recycled rubber underlay
  • Seagrass, coir, jute and sisal matting
  • Cork tiles
  • Reclaimed flooring, e.g. from old schools and gymnasiums
  • Bamboo planks (but check what binding material has been used)
  • FSC-certified wooden planks
  • Antique or reclaimed tiles
  • Resilica – solvent-free resin flooring
  • Ecoscreed – uses recycled glass to reduce the amount of sand and cement in screed flooring
  • EcoSolution Q – fully recyclable commercial carpeting with a range of eco certifications
  • Noraplan Eco – rubber flooring containing up to 75% recycled material
  • Lino or Marmoleum – made from linseed oil, rosin, wood flour, cork flour, limestone and jute
  • Lifeline planks – a low-emission product with non-PVC binding agents

Everyone has different sustainability criteria (for example, if you’re vegan you probably won’t consider a wool carpet) so please don’t assume that a product meets your needs without doing further research – but we hope the above list demonstrates that a trip to your local carpet warehouse isn’t the only option available to you.

Image credit: Photo by Roselyn Tirado on Unsplash

Categories: All actions, Chemicals

How to Save Energy – get better wall insulation

save energy - make your wall insulation better

Why should I insulate my walls?

Energy use in homes contributes a staggering 10.9% to global greenhouse emissions[1]. Properties can lose one-third of their heat through the walls[2], so that’s a huge opportunity to save money, save energy and stop contributing to climate change. Installing wall insulation is an effective, do-it-once-and-forget-about-it climate change action that keeps on working, and there may even be grants available to help with the cost.

Can you insulate cavity walls?

In the UK, most houses built since 1920 have cavity walls. Some, but not all, cavity walls can be insulated, usually with mineral wool, polystyrene beads, or polyurethane foam.

Cavity wall insulation should be suitable for your property if:

  • Your external walls have an unfilled cavity between the inner and outer layers
  • The cavity is at least 50mm (2 inches) wide
  • The cavity is clear of rubble (it may not be, as the “cavity” was often a convenient place for previous generations of builders to dump waste)
  • The brickwork or stone is in good condition
  • The walls are not exposed to driving rain (rain that falls hard and fast, and is forced into the fabric of the building by strong winds)
  • The property is not at risk of flooding
  • The masonry or stone surface inside the cavity is fairly smooth (otherwise the insulation won’t fill evenly and you’ll get damp patches)

If you have a cavity wall that can’t be insulated, you may still be able to add insulation on the inside – see the solid wall section below for more details.

For more information on cavity wall insulation, visit The Energy Saving Trust (cavity wall insulation).

Can you insulate solid walls?

In the UK, houses built before 1920 are likely to have solid walls, i.e. a single wall made of just one material, usually brick or stone. Heat loss is slowed down by changes in materials, so walls made of just one material are likely to leak heat faster. Adding a layer of a different material slows this “thermal bridging” effect.

Not all solid walls can be insulated. Adding insulation to very old properties can prevent them from “breathing” and cause problems with damp, condensation and mould. If you’re thinking about insulating an older property, take advice from a reputable company – ideally one that’s been around for a long time and specialises in older buildings.

If they’re suitable, solid walls can be insulated on either the inside or the outside of the wall. Unfortunately, fitting solid wall insulation is more expensive and disruptive than installing cavity wall insulation.

Fitting solid wall insulation on the inside is disruptive and expensive because the extra thickness of the insulation forces you to move the positions of electrical sockets and doorframes.

Fitting solid wall insulation on the outside means the depth of the window reveals and the eaves will be reduced, which can look a bit strange (not that that should really be a consideration when the climate is at stake!). Depending on where you live you may also need to get planning permission, as you will be changing the external appearance of your property.

As a result, solid wall insulation will be least disruptive and costly if it’s done at the same time as other work, e.g. internal decoration, roof repairs or an extension. Landlords will probably want to do the work between tenancies to avoid disruption to tenants.

For more information on solid wall insulation, visit The Energy Saving Trust (solid wall insulation).

Insulation for new builds and extensions

If you are building from scratch, there’s a huge choice of modern, sustainable insulating boards and natural products available, including sheep’s wool, recycled insulation, straw bales, hemp, cork, wood fibre, recycled newspaper (cellulose) and cotton (recycled fabrics).

Check out Homebuilding and Renovation and GreenSpec for more details.

Grants to fund insulation upgrades

Grants for insulation may be available through government schemes, your local council, or your energy supplier. The grants and rules change often so we recommend searching for “insulation grants” followed by the name of your country, county or energy supplier, to find out what’s currently available.

How can I encourage other people to improve their wall insulation?

As energy prices remain high, it’s a great time to talk to friends, family and colleagues about improving their insulation.

Look for information about grants that may be relevant to them, even if they aren’t relevant to you; for example, grants for low-income families, landlords, or people who live in council properties.

If you’re good with forms, help other people make their grant application. If you’ve already gone through the process, help them avoid any delays or pitfalls you experienced.

If you’ve had insulation fitted, look back through your energy bills for the year before you got insulation, and note down how much energy you used. The number of units or kWh is most useful, as that isn’t affected by price changes. Then collect the same information for the year after the insulation was fitted. Hopefully, you should see a significant reduction in the amount of energy you used, which is great evidence to give to other people who are thinking about it.

Improving your wall insulation is just one of many ways to save energy at home – don’t forget to check out our other ideas!

[1] Ritchie, H., Roser, M. and Rosado, P. (2020) Emissions by sector. Our World in Data. Available at: https://ourworldindata.org/emissions-by-sector (Accessed: March 22, 2023).

[2] Cavity Wall Insulation (2022) Energy Saving Trust. Available at: https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/advice/cavity-wall-insulation/ (Accessed: February 5, 2023).

Photo credit: Chris Barbalis on Unsplash

Categories: All actions, Building

How to save energy – insulate your pipes and hot water tank

copper pipes with foam insulation

Why should I insulate my tank or pipes?

Insulating your hot water tank (cylinder) and pipes is probably the cheapest and easiest way to improve the insulation in your home.

Why should you bother? Well, an uninsulated cylinder or pipe constantly radiates heat, so it’s like having a big, unnecessary radiator in your cupboard, loft or basement. The more heat you lose, the more energy your boiler uses trying to keep the water up to temperature, so it costs you money for no good reason.

How do I insulate my pipes?

Insulating your hot water pipes is a genuinely simple DIY job:

  • Pipe insulation is a foam tube with a slit all the way along it. You can buy pipe insulation in any DIY store, or try this economy pipe insulation from Screwfix.
  • You’ll need a Stanley knife or a strong pair of scissors to cut it to length.
  • Then just pop it around the pipe, like in the picture above.
  • Corners are a bit more difficult, but you just need to cut a chunk out of the foam tube so it bends to match the pipe.
  • Then fix it in place with duct tape.
  • Even if you don’t do the tricky bits like the corners, you’ve still made a difference.

How do I insulate my hot water tank?

Insulating your hot water tank is pretty easy too:

  • A tank jacket is a very thick glass fibre “blanket” with a flame-retardant cover. You can buy tank jackets in any DIY store, or try this cheap, 80mm thick hot water cylinder jacket from Screwfix.
  • It’s easiest if you buy one that comes in several pieces, so there are gaps for all the pipes that come out of your hot water tank.
  • Look for one that’s 80mm thick so it’s really efficient.
  • Wrap the tank jacket around the tank.
  • Secure it with cable ties.
  • Tape up the gaps with duct tape.

Job done!

Image credit: Kate Spencer

Categories: All actions, Building, Cheap, Energy Use, Quick & easy, Saves money, Water

Build a cycle route as part of every new development

Top 10 climate change actions - change how you travel

Why do we need new cycle routes?

Every new housing development brings thousands of new people to an area, and most of them will leave every day for work, school or household tasks. These activities add thousands of daily journeys to local roads, most of which are done in petrol or diesel cars, creating pollution at the local level and contributing to climate change globally.

Developers and landowners make millions from new edge-of-town developments, and councils quite rightly make them contribute significant amounts of money to help fund local infrastructure that will be stretched as a result of the new housing.

We think that, as part of planning permission, some of that money should be set aside to build cycle routes. The cycle routes should run from each new development to the centre of town, the bus station and the train station, and from the centre of town to the retail parks, industrial estates and business parks. This would effectively connect people to everything they need, reducing car use, reducing local and global pollution, and improving health.

How can I help get more cycle routes built?

  • Write to your local council and your political representative to demand that new developments are only granted planning permission if they add to the sustainability of the local transport system. While one letter won’t change anything, trust that your letter will eventually be one of thousands, evidence of a groundswell of public opinion that they can’t ignore
  • Encourage other people to write as well
  • Comment on planning applications for major developments
  • Encourage other people to comment too. Share the link to the planning application, your suggestion for a cycle path, and the reasons why, in relevant social media groups. (Feel free to use the wording above.)
  • To help promote cycle paths in your area and nationwide, join and support Sustrans. Sustrans delivers and manages the National Cycle Network, a UK-wide network of traffic-free paths connecting cities, towns and countryside

How can I contact my MP or political representative?

In the UK, you can find out who your MP is and how to contact them on They Work For You.

In the US, you can find out who your representative in Congress is here.

Image credit: photo by Mitchel Boot on Unsplash

Categories: All actions, Building, Influence, Travel & commuting

How to take climate action – take part in a school strike

children, young people taking part in a climate protest

What are school strikes?

School strikes, inspired by the action taken by Greta Thunberg, are a direct challenge to leadership (teachers, governments and parents). Students are absent from school, usually without permission, and instead go to a public place with placards explaining that they are on strike, and why.

The objective is to make the news, in order to:

  • remind the more complacent members of our society that climate change is a problem
  • remind other campaigners that they’re not alone
  • and make it harder for your government to continue with climate-damaging policies

Not to be taken lightly, school strikes have been proven to be a valuable attention-raising tool in the fight against climate change.

Should I take part in a school strike?

Whether or not to participate in a school strike is not an easy decision to make. It’s a direct challenge to the way things have always been done; you must balance the risk of damaging your education and future work prospects against the risk that your future (as previous generations have known it) is at stake.

Is it worth it? Perhaps it depends on where you are in your school career. If you are approaching your exams, you might take a different view of the risks compared to if you are at a less critical stage in your school career. At all stages, speak to your parents and teachers to explain, and ask the teachers if they would be prepared to send you a copy of the lesson materials so you don’t miss out. Students with good behaviour records, who can explain their actions in a reasoned way and collaborate with teachers to limit the disruption to their education will probably suffer less negative consequences than others might; but ultimately the school will have behaviour standards to uphold and you may well face punishment of some kind.

Ultimately it is a personal decision.

How can I make my school strike effective?

Ideally, do it on the same day as an organised protest to maximise your impact.

Make sure you do your preparation. Make effective, eye-catching placards, prepare your statement so you know what your demands are, prepare a press release and tell your local media so they can arrange to cover the strike.

On the day, take photos to prove it happened, and make sure you take some in landscape (wide) format as this works best on media websites. Of course, take photos and video and share them on TikTok and Instagram too (but you didn’t need us to tell you to do that, right?) You might not be on Facebook, but the audience you need to convince is, so get someone to post your media to Facebook too, and send them to your local newspaper.

How can I support school strikes responsibly?

Supporting school strikes as a student leader

If you are a student leader (e.g. a class representative, head of house, or head girl/boy) take advantage of your role and speak to the school’s senior leadership team. A well-argued case could change the whole school’s policy. Maybe a compromise could be reached, e.g. a lunchtime protest. This could still make the news – local newspapers are desperate for stories – so you will have achieved your objective of bringing the climate crisis to people’s attention, while not losing any study time.

Supporting school strikes as a teacher, governor or member of the school leadership team

If you are a teacher, a governor or a member of the school’s leadership team, talk to each other about whether the school policy should be to support strikes, and how the effect on learning could be minimised, while maximising the effectiveness of the strike. Pro-active leadership, demonstrating that you care about both the climate and education could be more effective than attempting to manage rebellion (particularly as those rebelling may well be your most caring, thoughtful and high-achieving pupils).

If you teach art, tech or graphic design, help your students design and create posters and placards.

If you teach English, media studies, or business studies, help your students prepare a press release and rehearse press interviews.

If you teach science, make sure your students understand the environmental chemistry and biology that’s relevant to their protest so they are well informed.

If you teach maths, help your students with any statistics they are interpreting or quoting so they don’t accidentally make false claims.

If you teach history, geography or sociology, teach your students about the historic and current inequities that have contributed to the unfair burden of climate change experienced by the global South; and strategies that go towards making that right, like targeted assistance for developing countries, and respecting indigenous rights.

Supporting school strikes as a parent

As a parent, talk to your child about school strikes, and how they could participate safely and avoid damage to their education. Help them to make good choices regarding which strikes to support and when.

Image credit: photo by Callum Shaw on Unsplash

Categories: All actions, Community & action, High impact, Influence

How to take climate action – plant a lot of trees

rainforest trees in sunlight

Why should I plant trees?

Trees absorb and lock away carbon – on average about 22kg of CO2 per year[1] – so it’s horrifying that human activity has already cleared about half of the Earth’s tropical forests[2] and a further 7.3 million hectares are destroyed every year.[2] That’s the same as about 10.5 million football (soccer) pitches or 13.7 million NFL football fields.

Research shows that planting billions of trees is the simplest and cheapest way to help tackle the climate crisis[3]. The study’s authors calculated that it should be possible to increase tree cover by 25%. When mature, the extra forested areas would be capable of locking away 200 gigatonnes of carbon (25% of current atmospheric carbon)[3].

While we absolutely must reduce emissions as well, planting trees is a quick, easy win, because it doesn’t require political will or rely on technology that hasn’t been invented yet. It’s a low-tech, cheap solution that can be started right now by anyone, anywhere.

In addition to capturing carbon, responsible reforestation also:

  • prevents soil erosion
  • improves soil health
  • prevents flooding by improving groundwater recharge (the process by which water returns to the water table)
  • supports native plants and animals
  • regulates local temperatures (e.g. cooling cities naturally)
  • and provides work for local communities

Where does tree planting have the most effect?

Trees planted in tropical areas were long believed to have the most impact[4]. So, on a global scale, it’s good to support a scheme that aims to plant millions of trees in equatorial areas, like Earth Day’s Canopy Project. Alongside many other campaigns, they plant trees in areas most at risk from climate change and after environmental disasters.

However, more recent evidence indicates that the UK’s older trees lock away twice as much carbon as previously thought – so really there’s no bad place to plant a tree, so long as it’s a native tree, and not in a monoculture (i.e. not a huge area all planted with the same type of tree).

Here are some great examples of international tree planting.

How can I plant more trees in my area?

close up of two red and green eating apples on an apple tree. On the left, the blurred background gives the impression of more apple trees

If you’re in charge of a lot of land (e.g. managing an estate, a park, a school or looking after community-owned land), check out the Woodland Trust’s tree planting scheme. They can help with access to grants and funding schemes and suggest which trees you should plant. They can even supply free trees to schools and communities. Applications open in spring for autumn delivery, because it’s best to plant trees in late autumn/winter.

In your area, support schemes to plant native trees in public spaces, or plans to plant locally-appropriate woodland and forests, and support campaigns to replant forests that have been destroyed by farming and mining. Support these schemes even if they change your local landscape so it looks unfamiliar to you.

If you have room at home, plant a native and appropriately-sized tree. Research how big it will grow, or ask a tree specialist, so you don’t cut out all your light and damage your home’s foundations. If you plant a fruit tree, you can also have a free seasonal supply of apples, pears or other fruit.

If you have less space, planting any leafy plant will help. Consider planting fruit bushes, or something that flowers in the winter, like viburnum, to provide early or out-of-season food for beneficial insects like bees.

If you have no outdoor space at all, even indoor plants will help. They’ll remove CO2 from the air, and they’ll also help remove volatile organic compounds (given off by furnishings and paint) from your home. Good Housekeeping, quoting a study by NASA, recommends aloe vera, areca palm and snake plant, among others.

[1] Urbanforestrynetwork.org. (2019). Trees Improve Our Air Quality. [online] Available at: http://urbanforestrynetwork.org/benefits/air%20quality.htm [Accessed 27 Jul. 2019]

[2] Earth Day. n.d. The Canopy Project | Earth Day. [online] Available at: <https://www.earthday.org/campaign/the-canopy-project/> [Accessed 14 February 2021].

[3] “The restoration of forested land at a global scale could help capture atmospheric carbon and mitigate climate change.”) Bastin et al (2019). The global tree restoration potential. Science, [online] 365(6448), pp.76-79. Available at: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/365/6448/76.

[4] Carrington, D., 2019. Tree planting ‘has mind-blowing potential’ to tackle climate crisis. [online] the Guardian. Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jul/04/planting-billions-trees-best-tackle-climate-crisis-scientists-canopy-emissions> [Accessed 14 February 2021].

[5] Gill, V. (2022) UK’s old trees critical to climate change fight, BBC News. BBC. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-64028694 (Accessed: February 5, 2023).

Image credits:
Rainforest: photo by Alenka Skvarc on Unsplash
Apples on a tree: photo by Sokmean Nou on Unsplash

Categories: All actions, Carbon absorption, Community & action, Gardening, High impact, Uncategorized

How to stop unnecessary flights – campaign for a frequent flyer tax

sad business people on plane

What is a frequent flyer tax?

A frequent flyer tax (also known as a frequent flyer levy) is an additional tax on people who take a lot of flights (or the businesses that make them take the flights). This makes the flights more expensive, which discourages unnecessary travel.

A frequent flier tax wouldn’t have any effect on people taking an occasional holiday or making infrequent trips to visit loved ones in other countries (although we would encourage you to think about taking more sustainable holidays instead of flying – see our travel page for ideas).

How would a frequent flyer tax help reduce emissions?

Flying is expected to be the biggest source of the UK’s emissions by 2050 [1], and just 15% of people are responsible for 70% of UK flights [2]. A frequent flyer tax could therefore significantly reduce emissions by discouraging a small-ish number of people (or the people who tell them what to do) from flying as often.

An important point is that the frequent flyer tax would need to be levied on businesses, not just individuals. That’s to prevent companies from avoiding the tax by sending a different person each time.

What can I do to help get a frequent flier tax introduced?

Lobby your political representative to introduce a frequent flyer tax. While one letter won’t change anything, trust that your letter will eventually be one of thousands, evidence of a change in public opinion that they can’t ignore.

Here are some useful facts from GreenWorld, the Green Party’s membership publication:

  • Introducing a frequent flyer tax would force frequent fliers to think more about their aerial carbon footprint and give them a financial incentive to lower it
  • Aviation contributes to about 2.5 per cent of global carbon emissions; this rises to 5% when all greenhouse gases, not just carbon, are taken into account
  • As more people reach the global middle class more people want to fly, so passenger numbers are expected to increase substantially in the coming decades
  • In the UK, just 15% of people take 70% of flights.
    1% of people in the UK are responsible for about 20% of flights!
    Meanwhile, more than half of the people in the UK don’t fly at all
  • The Green Party’s proposals would allow people to take one return flight a year, with no extra tax, so people could go on annual holidays and visit any family they may have abroad
  • Businesses and frequent fliers can and will have to adapt – trains can be used to get to Continental Europe instead of planes. Video conferencing can be done online. Longer stays at destinations can be arranged so multiple visits aren’t necessary
  • When properly explained, the public should be fully behind a frequent flyer tax because voters are keen on policies which follow well-established climate science but don’t make them change their own behaviour! 

How can I contact my MP or political representative?

In the UK, you can find out who your MP is and how to contact them on They Work For You.

In the US, you can find out who your representative in Congress is here.

[1] BBC News. 2019. Introduce frequent flyer levy to fight emissions, government told. [online] Available at: <https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-49808258> [Accessed 7 February 2021].

[2] Full Fact. 2016. Do 15% of people take 70% of flights?. [online] Available at: <https://fullfact.org/economy/do-15-people-take-70-flights/> [Accessed 7 February 2021].

Photo credit:  Hanson Lu on Unsplash

Categories: All actions, Free, High impact, Influence, Quick & easy, Travel & commuting

How to take climate action – use your vote!

I voted sticker

Actions taken by individuals are important but – let’s be honest – the effect is tiny compared to the impact of actions taken by governments.

We urgently need strong environmental action from our governments, so use your vote to support national and local politicians who put the environment at the heart of their economic and international policies.

Why should I bother to vote?

Many of our current politicians do not seem to care about climate breakdown at all – their promises are as empty as their pockets are full. Voting can feel pointless, particularly if you live in an area that votes overwhelmingly in the opposite direction to you.

But it’s always worth voting.

  • Even safe seats can be overturned, sometimes quite spectacularly
  • Winning parties will be keeping a close eye on the policies and popularity of their rivals
  • The incredibly close Brexit vote showed that literally, every vote counts
  • For women, our right to vote is comparatively recent and hard-won, and we have a duty to the campaigners who fought for our rights – particularly as the overturning of Roe-vs-Wade in the US has shown how easily women’s rights can be taken away
  • Our votes matter just as much in local elections, with the added benefit that you can often vote with your heart as well as your head and get a Green candidate elected

Don’t hold out for a perfect candidate – there isn’t one! Choose the one whose values and policies most closely match yours, because someone else is guaranteed to be voting for someone terrible, and at least your vote can cancel theirs out.

So, encourage everyone you know to use their vote – particularly younger people, who tend to be more progressive overall, but turn out to vote less than older people do. (The BBC states that in the UK 2015 general election, only 43% of 18-24-year-olds voted, compared with 78% of people aged 65 or over [1].)

Younger people’s failure to vote isn’t necessarily due to apathy. It could be because they aren’t sure how to register, or because they haven’t got the time to queue at a polling station while juggling work, children and/or study[2]. From 2023, it could also be because some younger people lack the forms of ID necessary to cast a vote in person. The rules on what ID is allowable discriminate against younger people, people who haven’t got passports or driving licences, and people who move addresses frequently, thereby giving an advantage to the party which is supported by more older voters (you know which party I mean).

How can I get more people to vote?

  • Talk to people, particularly young people, about the importance of voting. Fight apathy with recent examples of supposedly safe seats being overturned
  • Use your knowledge of the system, or your free time, to help people register to vote
  • Use your free time to help them actually vote (e.g. driving them to the polling station or babysitting)
  • Explain that there are new rules about voter ID from 2023, and ask them to make sure they have got the forms of ID necessary to cast a vote in person
  • For busy people, help them arrange a postal vote.
    Literally, everyone has time to vote by post
  • When people say all politicians are as bad as each other, list all the recent scandals you can find on the BBC news website in order of “badness”, and see which party comes up worse
  • Volunteer to support your local Green Party candidate (or whichever candidate they are stepping aside for)
  • Talk to your children about politics, sustainability and social justice
  • While they can’t actually vote yet, young people can register to vote from the age of 16 in England, and from the age of 14 in Scotland and Wales. Encourage/help them to register early, so they are ready if they are old enough to vote when the next election is called (remember, elections can often be called at short notice)

How do I register to vote?

In the UK, you can register to vote here.

When you’ve registered to vote, you can request a postal vote here.

Anyone can have a postal vote and you don’t need to give a reason.

In the US, you can find out how to register here:
Find out how to register (scroll down to the “States With Online Voter Registration” table)
Find out if you’re already registered.

And if you are a US citizen abroad, find out how to vote from overseas here. Please use your vote because the rest of the world really cares who’s in charge in the US, but has no influence over it!

Can I get a postal vote?

The short answer is YES – anyone who is registered to vote in the UK can get a postal vote, and you don’t have to give a reason.

Postal votes are great if you’re short of time, forgetful, or just don’t like queuing. It means last-minute problems can’t prevent you from casting your vote. And it’s super-useful for people who work full time, have kids to put to bed, have to prepare dinner, have limited mobility, have evening classes to attend, feel vulnerable walking at night, or just don’t like queuing in the rain… which is just about everyone.

I’ll say it again – in the UK, anyone who’s registered to vote can request a postal vote here. You don’t need to give a reason.

So the steps are:

  1. Start early
  2. If you plan to vote in person, make sure you have one of the accepted forms of voter ID
  3. Register to vote here
  4. When you’ve registered to vote, request a postal vote here
  5. Use your vote

In the US, some states automatically send mail-in ballots to everyone who’s registered to vote, but in other states, you have to request them. Find out what your state’s rules are here (scroll down to the “States With Online Voter Registration” table).

References:
[1] BBC News. (2020). Election 2017: If more young people actually voted, would it change everything? [online] Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2017-39965925 [Accessed 8 Mar. 2020].

[2] BBC News. (2020). Why don’t more young people vote? [online] Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-51763333 [Accessed 8 Mar. 2020].

Photo credit:  Element5 Digital on Unsplash

Categories: All actions, Free, High impact, In Lockdown, Influence

Climate action – how to use a zero-waste shop

dry goods bins at a zero waste shop

How do zero-waste shops work?

Zero-waste shops sell everyday items, like groceries, cleaning products, personal care items and gifts, without plastic packaging. But, because they’re all about reducing packaging, they don’t work like normal shops!

You can bring your own containers, or buy reusable containers from them the first time you buy something. They’ll write the weight of the container on the bottom, and deduct it when they weigh your goods, so you don’t end up paying for the weight of the container!

Dry goods like pasta, flour and muesli are usually stored in gravity bin dispensers. You simply put your container underneath, open the door at the bottom, fill your container, and close the door again. Wide-necked containers are best otherwise you will make a mess… but they’ll have a dustpan and brush handy.

Spices are usually stored in Kilner jars, with a spoon nearby so you can measure out how much you need.

Cleaning products like washing up liquid, laundry detergent, and fabric conditioner will be stored in large plastic tubs. They’ll either have a pump, or a tap and a spout at the bottom. You put the spout into the neck of your reusable bottle, then pump to fill your bottle, or open the tap. Keep an eye on the spout, particularly when pumping!

I have lost count of the number of times I’ve been distracted talking to the owner and spilt laundry detergent on the carpet. Fortunately, they are very forgiving and have towels ready to use.

What other things do zero-waste shops sell?

One lovely thing about zero-waste shops is they are often local owner-managed businesses, so they’ll all be different.
Our local shop sells all sorts of environmentally friendly products like beeswax wraps, reusable period products, cleaning brushes, and tooth-cleaning products. They’ve also got a coffee grinder and a “Notella” machine, which grinds hazelnuts and chocolate nibs into a palm-oil-free Nutella substitute.

More good reasons to use a zero-waste shop

  • Zero-waste shops are great places to meet like-minded people so you don’t feel like you’re doing this all on your own
  • They might be a local Terracycle collection point, so you can recycle your crisp packets and chocolate wrappers when you go in
  • Zero-waste shop staff will probably know all about local seed swaps, have the contact details for joining your local Extinction Rebellion group, or know who to speak to about getting a seat on a coach to a protest
  • Together, staff and customers form a local knowledge bank to help solve problems. If you’re thinking of investing in a major green project, they’ll probably know someone who’s already done it. Or if you want to know how to freshen up your washing machine without commercial products, they can tell you how to do that too
  • Using your local zero-waste shop helps keep the High Street alive and supports local small businesses
  • And of course, it means less packaging waste is produced. The amount of packaging used for bulk delivery of stock is much less than the amount needed to pack the same items individually

How can I find my nearest zero-waste shop?

Easy – google “zero waste (your town’s name) or use this map to find your nearest zero-waste shop (but check your local store’s website before you go, for opening hours, and to make sure it’s still running).

Photo credit: Benjamin Brunner on Unsplash

Categories: All actions, Food, High impact, In Lockdown, Waste

Reduce, reuse, recycle is dead – here’s how to make a difference

rubbish trash littering a tropical beach

What’s wrong with reduce, reuse, recycle?

Reduce, reuse, recycle… it’s been drummed into us since the 70s. But that old mantra sounds a bit hollow now we’ve learned what some unethical companies are doing with our carefully-separated recyclables.

Containers full of recyclable material are shipped overseas, but once they arrive there’s no guarantee that they will actually be recycled. Our plastic waste ends up on beaches, in rivers, in landfills, or could be incinerated. Burning plastic releases toxic gases which can harm the health of the people living nearby.

So while recycling is good in principle, we can’t just ship it abroad and forget about it. The problem with “reduce, reuse, recycle” is we’ve been focusing too much on the “recycle” bit, forgetting that by far the most important bit is “reducing”, i.e. not causing the plastic to be used in the first place.

How can I reduce plastic use?

We need to make plastic reduction central to every decision at work and home. Some good places to start are:

  • Buy less stuff, particularly stuff packaged in plastic
  • At work, look for opportunities to reduce plastic in your products and packaging. Your one decision at work could have the same impact as thousands of individual consumers reaching the same decision
  • Buy loose ingredients from a zero-waste shop, and cook from scratch
  • Use bamboo, jute or organic cotton shopping bags instead of either single-use or plastic bags-for-life
  • Use beeswax wraps instead of cling film or sandwich bags
  • Stop buying plastic junk, e.g. for presents, or for children
  • Use bamboo or closed-loop recycling toothbrush heads instead of plastic toothbrushes
  • Use re-usable sanitary products
  • Make your own sandwiches and coffee. Wrap your sandwiches in a beeswax wrap and put them in a tin. Carry your coffee in a reusable bamboo cup
  • Avoid plastic promotional giveaways, both as a giver and a receiver

There are probably thousands of different alternatives to everyday products available – we’ve listed our favourite eco-friendly swaps here.

But success lies in a change of mindset.

  • Buy less
  • Buy better
  • Avoid plastic in as many purchases as possible
  • Learn to repair what’s broken
  • Borrow
  • Lend
  • Give things away
  • Think “second-hand first”

Photo credit: Dustan Woodhouse on Unsplash

Categories: All actions, Consumption, High impact, Waste

How to clean with natural products

lemons, a natural cleaning product, on a grey wooden board

Why clean with natural products?

There are several good reasons to use natural cleaning products instead of man-made cleaning chemicals, including:

  • Keeping hazardous chemicals out of waterways and landfill
  • Avoiding contact with hazardous chemicals in the home
  • Avoiding plastic waste
  • Saving money

Bicarbonate of soda, white vinegar, and lemon juice are effective, cheap and widely used for cleaning metal, hobs, ceramic tiles/sinks and laminate surfaces (but should not be used on marble, slate, wood and other natural surfaces).

How to clean with bicarbonate of soda

Bicarbonate of soda is commonly used in cooking. It’s usually combined with a small amount of vinegar or lemon juice, which produces carbon dioxide bubbles, and makes whatever you’re cooking really light and fluffy.

However, bicarbonate of soda is also really good for getting burnt food off pans. If you’ve ever burnt food onto a pan you’ll know how hard it is to get it off without a huge amount of scrubbing – you may even give up and accept that this is just how your pan is from now on.

The easiest way to remove burnt-on food is to put about a centimetre (half an inch) of water in your pan, add a couple of teaspoons of bicarbonate of soda, and mix. It will fizz a bit. Now heat the pan gently, while you gently rub the burnt-on bits with the end of a wooden spatula. After a couple of minutes, the burnt bits will dissolve and rub off. If it’s really badly burnt on, you might need to refresh the mixture and have another go.

The best way to avoid getting burnt-on bits in the first place is to use a lower temperature and stir regularly. This is particularly true with cast iron or ceramic pots, which only need a very low temperature because they hold the heat so well.

Warning: test on an inconspicuous area first, and definitely avoid using bicarbonate of soda on marble, slate, wood and other natural surfaces.

How to clean with white vinegar

White vinegar is great at removing grease and burnt-on food in your kitchen.

Thoroughly clean an old spray bottle so no traces of the previous chemicals remain. Half-fill the spray bottle with white vinegar, then fill the rest up with cold tap water. Shake gently to mix. Spray onto kitchen grease or dirt, as you would use a commercial cleaning product. Leave for a few minutes, then scrub/wipe it away with a damp cloth, and dry it.

I have tested this mix on my metal hob, stainless steel pans, ceramic-coated pans, glass oven door and glass hotplate. It works just as well as my old favourite commercial product (Fairy Power Spray).

Warning: test on an inconspicuous area first, and definitely avoid using vinegar on marble, slate, wood and other natural surfaces.

If you use non-stick pans and trays, CookingLight says you can use the 50:50 vinegar/water mix on non-stick surfaces (we haven’t tested this).

How to clean your washing machine with white vinegar

You can also use white vinegar to clean the inaccessible inside parts of your washing machine. The inside of your washing machine will get gunked up over time, which can leave your clothes smelling musty even after they’ve been washed.

Every couple of months, put about one cup (roughly 250 ml) white vinegar into the dispensing drawer, then run the hottest wash you can, straight away.

Wash a normal load afterwards to get rid of any vinegar that might be lingering in the seals (vinegar might damage the seal if it’s left to sit for a while).

Job done.

How to clean with lemon juice

I use lemon juice to clean my ceramic sinks and chrome-plated taps in the bathroom. All you need is a splash of lemon juice straight from the lemon or the bottle.

Neat (undiluted) lemon juice cleans the dirt and limescale from my ceramic sink and chrome-plated tap better than Cif used to. Just drip it on and leave it for 15 minutes, wipe it down with a rag or scrubber, and finally rinse off with water to prevent stickiness.

How to clean your showerhead or tap with lemon juice

You can also use lemon juice to clean limescale from showerheads and tap outlets.

  • Put enough lemon juice in a plastic bag, so that when you put the showerhead or tap outlet in the bag, the head is completely submerged in the lemon juice. Start with about 100ml (less than half a cup) and add more if you need to. The tighter you fasten the bag to the tap, the less lemon juice you will need
  • Fasten the bag in place with a couple of elastic bands, making sure the lemon juice covers all the limescale
  • Leave it for about half an hour, then carefully remove the bag and see if the limescale has reduced or can be picked off
  • Put the bag of lemon juice back on if necessary; this will depend on how much limescale has built up. You might need to replace the lemon juice if there is a lot of limescale and it seems to stop working
  • You may need to scrub or chip the limescale off if it is very hard, being very careful not to scratch the tap or showerhead itself. However hard this is, it will still be easier than it would have been without the lemon juice

Warning: test on an inconspicuous area first, and avoid using lemon juice on marble, slate, wood and other natural surfaces.

Does lemon juice or white vinegar kill bacteria?

Both vinegar and lemon juice are traditionally used to preserve food because the acidity slows down or prevents the growth of bacteria. But do they actually kill bacteria, like most commercial cleaning products do?

It’s fair to say that acidic substances like lemon juice and vinegar kill some bacteria. One study into the effectiveness of household natural sanitisers found that using a lemon juice-vinegar mixture (in a 1:1 ratio) for 15 minutes reduced the number of bacteria to an undetectable level [1] while another study stated, “The combined use of vinegar and sodium chloride (table salt), with use of an appropriate treatment temperature, was found to be markedly effective for the prevention of bacterial food poisoning.”[2]

So using lemon juice or white vinegar as a cleaning product should certainly kill more bacteria than using just soap or water would – but it is unlikely to result in a completely bacteria-free environment.

If killing bacteria is very important to your situation, you’ll need to find products that meet your own specific requirements.

Does lemon juice or white vinegar kill viruses?

Vinegar and lemon juice certainly can’t “kill” viruses – because viruses are not alive so cannot be killed. Viruses can only be disabled by vaccinations, anti-retroviral drugs or lack of access to a host cell, which is why vaccinations, masks, wiping things down and handwashing are vital tools in the fight against COVID-19 and other coronaviruses.

If disabling viruses is very important to your situation, you’ll need to find products that meet your own specific requirements.

So why use natural cleaning products?

My reasons for preferring natural products are:

  • I’m not looking for a product that removes every single bacteria. Washing hands, cleaning surfaces and good food hygiene is enough for the majority of people
  • I don’t want to create plastic waste with every purchase.
    Using natural products means I can refill my glass containers cheaply at the zero-waste store
  • I don’t want to put toxic chemicals into the water system
  • I don’t have the time, or the knowledge of chemicals, to read every label and research whether a certain chemical is bad for the environment or my family. Even if the current establishment claims something is safe, remember DDT and glyphosate? These chemicals used to be permitted, but are now proven to be carcinogens (cancer-causing substances). I’d rather stick to simple products that I know are safe, and which (so far as I can see) work just as well as commercial products

And finally – did I mention?
Don’t use lemon juice, vinegar or bicarbonate of soda on marble, slate, wood or other natural surfaces, and test on an inconspicuous area if you’re not sure!

[1] Yucel, S. and Karapinar, M., 2005. Effectiveness Of Household Natural Sanitizers In The Elimination Of Salmonella Typhimurium On Rocket (Eruca Sativa Miller) And Spring Onion (Allium… – Pubmed – NCBI. [online] Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15698693 [Accessed 12 April 2020].

[2] Entani, E., 1998. Antibacterial Action Of Vinegar Against Food-Borne Pathogenic Bacteria Including Escherichia Coli O157:H7. – Pubmed – NCBI. [online] Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9713753 [Accessed 12 April 2020].

Photo credit: Caroline Attwood on Unsplash

Categories: All actions, Cheap, Chemicals, In Lockdown

Think “second-hand first” – how to save money with second-hand and reuse websites

screenshot of listings on second hand clothing website depop

Why use second-hand and reuse websites?

Fashion waste is a huge problem, with waste occurring during manufacture, processing, transport, disposal of unsold stock and the quick discarding of fast fashion items.

According to Edge Fashion Intelligence, 94 million kg (208 million lb) of waste was generated from single-use outfits in 2019, and 64% of the 32 billion garments produced each year end up in landfill.

So whether you need something or don’t need something anymore, websites like eBay, Poshmark, Depop, Vinted, Freegle and Freecycle help keep stuff out of landfill and money in your pocket.

Facebook groups, Gumtree and Craigslist are also great ways to list or acquire things locally, with the benefit that you can easily collect them and don’t have to pay postage costs.

What are the best second-hand and reuse websites?

eBay

You’ve probably heard of eBay, the online auction and marketplace where you can buy or sell almost anything. It’s a great way to buy, or move on, second-hand clothes, household goods, and unwanted gifts.

It’s also a great way to find out what something’s worth. If you have some weird old collectables or vintage items, they might be worth a lot to someone else.

You need to create an account to buy or sell. Some items are offered as auctions, and others have a “buy it now” price. The price you offer to buy at is the price you pay, plus postage depending on your dispatch method.

As a private, low-volume seller, a basic listing is free – but eBay deducts a fee of 12.8% + 30p* before you get your money. However, there are lots of paid add-on services to help your item stand out, and a few weird quirks, for example, if you’re selling trainers.

Poshmark, Depop & Vinted

Poshmark, Depop and Vinted specialise in peer-to-peer sales of second-hand clothing, jewellery, shoes and homewares (i.e. people selling to other people). While some sellers take it very seriously, curating collections and wardrobes for their followers, the majority of sellers are just looking to make a little bit of money back when they clear out their wardrobes. It’s possible to pick up items from just a few pounds up to hundreds for second-hand designer items.

Vinted

You need to create an account to buy or sell on Vinted. Sellers can bundle items together and give buyers a discount for buying multiple items.
With Vinted, the price you see listed is what the seller gets. Vinted adds a fee of 70p + 5%*, and then you choose your postage method, which adds another couple of pounds. So while everything looks like a bargain, be prepared to pay a couple more pounds than the price you originally see.

Depop

You need to create an account to buy or sell on Depop.
As a buyer, you pay the price you see, plus postage depending on the method you choose.
Depop charges sellers 10% of the total sale price* (including 10% of the postage), then PayPal or Depop Payments charge around 3% + 30p* as well.

Poshmark

Poshmark is marketed as the site for higher-value items.
You need to create an account to buy or sell on Poshmark.
As a buyer, you pay the price you see, plus postage, which starts at $7.67 for items weighing 5 lb or less*.
Poshmark charges sellers $2.95 for items under $15*. For items costing $15 or more, it’s 20% of the total*.

Freegle and Freecycle

Try Freegle and Freecycle for stuff that’s too bulky to post, or too tatty to sell, but still has plenty of use left in it. Everything is free.

You can list things you just want taken off your hands, or pick up items for nothing, in your local area. It really is worth a try; I’ve given away stuff I thought no one would ever want, like a really ugly concrete bird bath that came with our house; the people who collected it thought it was great.

Freegle and Freecycle are great for larger items or things that charity shops don’t want, perhaps because they’re a bit tatty or broken.

So if you need, or want to get rid of, 3 yards of used chicken wire, a well-used sofa or an aloe vera plant… just post an advert, and someone may help you out.

Click here to find your nearest Freecycle group

Or here to find your nearest Freegle group.

Facebook, Gumtree and Craigslist

Like classified ads in local newspapers, you can also give away, sell or pick up items on local Facebook groups, Gumtree and Craigslist.

However you choose to do it, you’re keeping things out of landfill and helping to build a community of people who reject the throw-away culture.

*Fees quoted are correct as at March 2023.

Image credit:
Screenshot by the author

Categories: All actions, Community & action, Consumption, Free, Saves money, Waste

The problem with bee-killing pesticides – and how to help

bee on a yellow canola / rapeseed flower

Why are pesticides a problem?

Bees and other insects are essential to pollinate around one-third of the food crops we rely on – but bee populations are in decline due to the use of pesticides called neonicotinoids (neonics), habitat loss and disease.

Neonics were banned by the EU in April 2018, but, according to Greenpeace, at least 67 different emergency authorisations have been granted since that date. Many of these authorisations were granted repeatedly, or without any evidence of an ‘emergency’ situation being provided [1]. Neonic use has also been approved in the UK after Brexit, in certain emergency situations (although it was for a non-flowering crop).

Unfortunately, the next generation of pesticides are also believed to harm bees[2]. Indeed it’s hard to see how any future pesticides will be safe for bees and beneficial insects, given their physiological similarity to the insects the pesticides are intended to kill.

Legislators are under relentless pressure to approve pesticides that are known to cause the collapse of bee populations. This pressure comes from agrochemical giants like Bayer and Monsanto, whose business models are based on creating a reliance on their patented, proprietary seeds and pesticides.

How can I help end the use of bee-killing pesticides?

How can I contact my MP or political representative?

In the UK, you can find out who your MP is and how to contact them on They Work For You.

In the US, you can find out who your representative in Congress is here.

[1] Unearthed – Greenpeace. 2020. Loophole Keeps Bee-Killing Pesticides In Widespread Use, Two Years After EU Ban. [online] Available at: <https://unearthed.greenpeace.org/2020/07/08/bees-neonicotinoids-bayer-syngenta-eu-ban-loophole/> [Accessed 25 January 2021].

[2] BBC News. 2018. New Pesticides ‘May Have Risks For Bees’. [online] Available at: <https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-45185261> [Accessed 25 January 2021].

Image credit: photo by Tsing Wang on Unsplash

Categories: All actions, Bees, insects & rewilding, Chemicals, Free, High impact, Influence, Quick & easy, Uncategorized

Make our roadsides better with bee-friendly wildflowers

poppies and blue wildflowers in a wildflower roadside verge

Why do we need bee-friendly roadside verges?

According to the wildlife charity Plantlife, 97% of the UK’s wildflower meadows have been lost since the 1930s[1]. This habitat loss is one of the reasons bees and other beneficial insects, which pollinate many of our crops, are in decline. The other reasons are pesticide use and disease.

Roadside verges are part of the solution. There are nearly 500,000 km (310,000 miles!) of roadside verges in the UK, and every year councils spend hundreds of thousands of pounds maintaining them[2].

New national guidance (developed by Plantlife together with national highways agencies, industry bodies, Natural England and other environmental groups) recommends that verges should only be cut twice a year, and never before July when most wildflowers are in bloom. Previously, verges were cut four or more times every year.

Less frequent cutting and avoiding pesticides allows verges to act as wildlife havens, helping to spread wildflowers, insects and invertebrates via a network of “corridors” across the country. If this recommendation was adopted throughout the UK, the grassland habitat created would be the same area as London, Birmingham, Manchester, Cardiff and Edinburgh added together![2]

Write to your council about wildflower verges

Fortunately, many councils are keen to follow the example set by Dorset County Council, which estimates it has reduced the cost of verge maintenance by £100,000 in 5 years.[2]

It’s definitely worth contacting your council to encourage them to adopt the new national guidance. Councils are starved of cash and may well jump at the chance to reduce their costs.

Plantlife has written a sample letter, which you can use or adapt to help you write to your council. They also have a tool to help you find out which council you should be writing to, because it isn’t always obvious. Follow the link and scroll down to find the tool and sample letter.

[1] Plantlife. 2021. Real Action Needed To Save Our Vanishing Meadows. [online] Available at: <https://www.plantlife.org.uk/uk/about-us/news/real-action-needed-to-save-our-vanishing-meadows> [Accessed 25 January 2021].

[2] Barkham, P., 2021. UK Roadsides On Verge Of Becoming Wildlife Corridors, Say Experts. [online] the Guardian. Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/sep/27/uk-roadsides-verge-wildlife-corridors-guidelines-wildflowers> [Accessed 25 January 2021].

Photo credit: Lucie Hošová on Unsplash

Categories: All actions, Bees, insects & rewilding, Free, High impact, Influence, Quick & easy

Better gardening with bee-and-insect-friendly plants

bee on white and pink flower with blurred background

Why do we need to support bees and other insects?

Bees and other insects pollinate around one-third of the food crops we rely on and 80% of flowering plants – but bee populations are in decline due to pesticide use, habitat loss and disease.

You can help create safe, pesticide-free habitats for bees and beneficial insects by planting bee-friendly and insect-friendly plants in your garden.

Which are the best plants to attract bees?

Plants will vary by area, but colourful flowering native species are likely to be best for your local bee and insect population.

Friends of the Earth has a list of trees, shrubs, flowers, herbs, wildflowers, fruit and vegetables to help you choose plants that will attract bees and other pollinators all year round. It includes favourites like lavender, and surprises like ivy, which flowers late in the year when there isn’t much else around. (Viburnum is another pretty, scented winter plant that provides early food for insects.) They also have advice on how to provide shelter and water that’s safe for bees to get to.

Re-wilding large areas of the countryside needs political will, but if enough of us start now, we can make a difference while the politicians catch up. You can make a difference at the local level by persuading your local council to mow roadside verges less often, letting the wildflowers grow until July. The bees will be happy and so will the council – they’ll save money on contractors.

Photo credit: Sensei Minimal on Unsplash

Categories: All actions, Bees, insects & rewilding, Cheap, Gardening, High impact

Find your tribe – how to join or create a green group

group of people talking laughing outside

When you see people buying fast fashion, or buying a diesel or petrol car, or voting for politicians who support fossil fuels, it can feel like you’re the only person who’s doing anything to fight climate change.

Finding a group of people who are on the same path can really help when your motivation gets low. Talking through problems and sharing solutions will help all of you make faster progress, and create a visible hub that people new to “going green” can join.

How can I find a green group or tribe?

  • Join groups that already exist, like your local Extinction Rebellion group, your school’s sustainability group, or a community garden
  • Visit or follow your local zero-waste shop and get to know the owners and regular customers
  • Search for green groups on your preferred social media platform
  • Set up a community group called “your neighbourhood/workplace green people” (or something along those lines). Invite anyone you know who’s got solar panels, an electric car, an allotment, or is known to be vegetarian or vegan. Share your ideas, support each other and watch your group grow
  • Put a box in your workplace break room and label it “food sharing”. Encourage people to share food they’re not going to get to, or food they bought to try, but don’t like
  • Start a sustainability group at work or school
  • Get a food buddy and share bulk purchases from online ethical or vegan stores, or take unwanted items off each other’s hands
  • Organise a new-to-you event and swap clothes, toys or household items
  • Set up a formal or informal Terracycle collection point at your work, school or place of worship
  • Set up or support a Community Fridge
  • Start or support a community garden
  • Start a Wombling group (a gathering to litter pick or clean up a specific area)
  • If you’ve got a specific community project in mind, set up a Facebook group to attract supporters/helpers, and advertise it in local community groups
  • Take a Zero-Carbon Britain course and connect with like-minded people

In addition to their stated aims, these groups also create the opportunity for conversations about green issues, which can help you find allies to promote even more green initiatives at work or in your neighbourhood.

Photo credit: Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

Categories: All actions, High impact, Quick & easy, Saves money, Waste

How to take climate action – grow your own food

green and red tomatoes growing ripening on vine

Why should I grow my own food?

Every piece of food that you grow yourself saves you money, has zero food miles, zero packaging waste, gets you outside in the fresh air, and gives you a massive sense of achievement. You also get the satisfaction of eating seasonally and learning to store and use your own produce.

You can do it on a small scale or a large scale. In different houses, over the years, I’ve grown vegetables in a dedicated vegetable plot, mixed in amongst flowers in the border, on windowsills, and on balconies.

If you haven’t got the space to grow fruit and vegetables at home, consider an allotment. However, there are often long waiting lists for allotments, so if you can see yourself wanting one in the future, contact your local council and get your name down now.
Alternatively, arrange to tend someone else’s garden in exchange for sharing the produce (try Lend and Tend (UK), AllotMe (UK) or Shared Earth (US)).

What seeds should I buy?

The seeds you buy from the garden centre are often either F1 hybrids or genetically modified. The offspring are likely to be infertile or unstable, which means there’s no point saving seed from your plants to sow next year, locking you into a never-ending seed-purchase cycle that only benefits the international seed companies.

While this isn’t likely to be a big problem for hobby growers, it could become a huge problem for farmers in developing countries if the monopoly suppliers jack up their prices. And, as climate change increases the frequency of extreme and unpredictable weather events, the reducing genetic range (and therefore adaptability) of our staple food crops could become a problem for all of us.

I prefer not to support the big international seed companies, and I like the seed I use to be stable and unmodified, so I buy mine from a family company that grows heirloom varieties. In my experience, the seeds germinate reliably, generally produce good crops, and you can save the seed from your plants to use them next year. They even give you instructions on how to save the seed.

Here is a list of companies that sell organic seeds in the UK, courtesy of The Ecologist journal.

How can I get the most out of a small plot?

The majority of homes in the UK have very small plots, and we’ve all been trained to think that a flawless lawn is “peak garden”. So you may need to think creatively if you want to grow fruit and vegetables at home while allowing the rest of your family to continue to enjoy the garden in their own way.

  • If your partner isn’t convinced, create a Pinterest board of “beautiful gardens that aren’t lawns” to help them visualise what you’re planning
  • Remember you don’t have to do it all at once. Start with fruit and vegetables that you know you’ll eat, so your effort doesn’t go to waste. We started with tomatoes, peppers, squash and courgettes because we eat a lot of them and they can be grown without a greenhouse
  • Protect your crops from dogs, balls and children with a sturdy fence or a fruit cage
  • You can grow salad items on a windowsill, possibly even in winter (depending on how much sun the windowsill gets)
  • Join a local gardening club or Facebook group to get advice on when to plant and what’s going wrong with your plants
  • Find out when the last and first frost dates are in your area
  • Learn which plants grow well together and which don’t
  • To make the most of the space you have, try:
    – growing in pots
    – raised beds
    – vegetables planted amongst flowers
    – salad leaves as ground cover or ornamental lawn edging
    – hanging baskets (good for protecting strawberries from slugs)
    – increasing your growing area by using vertical space, e.g. growing plants up a trellis, an arch, a cone made of bamboo poles, or along wires fastened to fences
    – using cold frames to extend the growing season
    – growing vines and fruit trees against sunny walls so the plants benefit from the heat store
    – underplanting vertical plants (like sweetcorn, tomatoes or beans) with ground cover plants (like lettuce, courgettes or squash)
  • If you have enough space, a fruit cage or a greenhouse will help protect your crops so you get a better yield
  • If you have too little space for your needs, apply for an allotment or tend a neighbour’s garden in exchange for giving them a share of the produce

How can I become fully self-sufficient?

If you’re really going for it and want to be fully self-sufficient, estimates for the amount of land needed range from 0.75 to 1.25 acres per person for a vegetarian diet.

Check out this Grand Designs episode for the story of an inspirational couple who feed not just themselves and their family, but also support their catering business, on five acres of land in Somerset (season 22, episode 9).

If you’re living the self-sufficiency dream, we’d love to hear about it for our inspirational stories – please email info@biggreenideaslist.com and let us know!

Photo credit: Dan Gold on Unsplash

Categories: All actions, Food, Gardening, High impact, Saves money, Waste

Cutting your food miles or cutting out meat – which is better?

bunches of yellow bananas

What are food miles?

Food miles are the distance your food travels, from where it’s produced to your plate. Every mile travelled increases the greenhouse gases emitted.

However, it’s not as simple as it first appears.

Is it better to eat locally-reared meat, or fruit and vegetables that have travelled a long way?

The short answer, according to a study by researchers at the University of Oxford, is:

The impact of even the lowest-impact animal products is typically worse than the impact of vegetable substitutes.

The study, by Poore and Nemecek of the University of Oxford[1], acknowledges that there is a lot of variability between producers, and therefore scope for many meat producers to improve, which should be encouraged. But as a general rule to live by, it’s better for the environment if you eat plant-based food, no matter how far it’s travelled.

That’s because the emissions from producing food far outweigh the emissions caused by transporting it. (A different study [2] showed that just 5% of American households’ food-related emissions were generated at the transport stage.)

So your priority should be:

  • first cut out beef, other meats and dairy transported from far away, e.g. beef from cattle reared in the Amazon, replacing them with plant-based protein or smaller quantities of animal protein produced in your own country
  • then cut out beef, other meat and dairy that have been produced closer to home, replacing them with plant-based protein
  • finally, choose seasonal fruit and vegetables, or at least ones grown in warmer areas of your own continent. (This avoids wasting the energy used to heat industrial greenhouses in winter, or high-altitude air freight.)

So what is plant-based protein?

Protein is a basic building block of life, so all plants contain some protein – but some plants contain more, or more complete, protein than others.

Some of the best sources of plant-based protein are quinoa, seitan (vital wheat gluten), soy-based foods like TVP (textured vegetable protein), peas, beans (including baked beans from a can!), lentils, chickpeas (and anything made from them, like hummus or falafels), tofu, oats, rice, nuts and seeds.

[1] Poore, J. and Nemecek, T. (2018). Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers. Science, 360(6392), pp.987-992.
After researching five environmental indicators, 38,700 farms, and 1600 processors, packaging types, and retailers, the researchers found that “Most strikingly, impacts of the lowest-impact animal products typically exceed those of vegetable substitutes, providing new evidence for the importance of dietary change.”

[2] Weber, C and Scott Matthew, H (2008) Food-Miles And The Relative Climate Impacts Of Food Choices In The United States. [online] Available at: <https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es702969f> [Accessed 25 January 2021].

Photo credit: Matthew T Rader on Unsplash

Categories: All actions, Food, High impact, Travel & commuting

How to cut your food waste

loaf of bread with knife and wheat on a black background

We’ve been trained by supermarkets and cautious parents to only eat food that looks perfect, a habit which contributes to the 9.5 million tonnes of food the UK wastes, every year[1].

Once you change your way of thinking, you’ll be amazed at how much edible food you used to waste.

Make a plan and think ahead

Plan your meals in advance

Plan your meals for the week so you can:

  • use up anything you’ve got left over
  • plan something easy for busy days
  • batch cook on days when you’ve got more time
  • defrost tomorrow’s food overnight (chilled food cooks quicker, so it uses less energy than cooking from frozen)

Shop with a list

Shopping with a list helps you stick to a budget, avoid impulse buys that go to waste, and avoid buying accidental duplicates of things you already have.

Freeze food in portion sizes

Cut your garlic bread or pizza into portion sizes before you freeze it, then only defrost what you need (useful for everyone, but particularly if you’re cooking for one, or if you have small children who eat earlier than you do).

Use jam jars to freeze batch-cooked food

Each jar is the right size for one person, so you only defrost the quantity you need. This is particularly useful for families that have a mixture of meat-eaters and vegetarians/vegans.
Learn how to freeze food in jam jars.

Using up food that’s about to go bad

Learn the difference between use-by dates and best-before dates

Find out the difference between a best-before date and a use-by date – misunderstanding could be causing you to throw away perfectly good food.

Leftovers

Use your leftovers to make a quirky lunch tomorrow (e.g. fish fingers in a wrap with lettuce and mayo; chilli in a bap; roasted vegetables with pasta).

Bread

Freeze sliced bread before it goes stale. When you freeze it, put a piece of kitchen roll or a piece of teatowel in the bread bag – this will absorb any excess moisture so the bread doesn’t go soggy when you defrost it later. You can toast bread straight from frozen, or defrost as many slices as you need, overnight, in a reusable bag.

If your bread has already gone stale, or no one ever eats the crusts, grate them or whizz them up in a food processor. Use the breadcrumbs as a crunchy topping for a pasta bake, or breading for nuggets.

Fruit

You can freeze fruit that’s gone a bit past its best (but not mouldy). The fruit will be squishy when defrosted, so use them in a recipe where you don’t expect them to be firm, like a smoothie, porridge, overnight oats, a crumble or any baked fruit recipe. Bananas can be frozen and used as a base for a smoothie, non-dairy ice cream, or banana bread.

Vegetables

Freeze vegetables that are past their best (but not mouldy) and roast them later. Tomatoes, peppers and other vegetables work really well, as you expect roasted vegetables to be squashy anyway.

Save veg peelings/tops to bring extra flavour to soups or stock.

Save your potato peelings and make homemade “crisps” in the oven.

Broccoli stems are nice when sliced thinly, brushed with oil, seasoned and lightly pan-fried.

The leaves of many root vegetables can be sauteed like chard, or used to make a variation on pesto.

Salad

Put a piece of kitchen roll, or a piece of a tea towel, in your bag of salad leaves or spinach. The leaves will last much longer before they start to go slimy.

Use excess salad leaves or spinach to make pesto – a super-easy mid-week meal.

Eggs

Eggs last a long time past their best-before date, but if you have some that you are sure you won’t use in time, you can freeze them. Crack the egg as normal, then freeze the white and yolk either together or separately in small containers.

Milk

Milk can be frozen, but be careful because liquid expands when it freezes. Follow these steps to avoid splitting the container:

  • Loosen the lid
  • Very gently, push in the side of the bottle (not so much that the milk comes out of the bottle!)
  • With the side still pushed in, tighten the lid
  • Now freeze it
  • When the milk expands, it will just push the side of the container back out, and the bottle shouldn’t split

Cheese

Grate bits of hardened cheese and freeze them, then use them later for cheesy toppings.

Random leftovers

Use odd leftovers in quiches, mixed through rice, on pasta, roasted and served on a slice of puff pastry, or in omelettes.

Why not have a “whatever” night every week, when you finish up whatever’s left over in the fridge? This should save money as well as introduce some variety – you may find a new favourite meal.

[1] Food surplus and waste in the UK – key facts. October 2021. rep. Available at: https://wrap.org.uk/sites/default/files/2021-10/food-%20surplus-and-%20waste-in-the-%20uk-key-facts-oct-21.pdf (Accessed: January 2, 2023).

Photo credit: Victoria Shes on Unsplash

Categories: All actions, Food, High impact, In Lockdown, Quick & easy, Saves money, Waste

Make your own lunch

lunchtime sandwich roll with brie walnuts and salad

Bad memories of the sandwiches you used to have to eat at school? Don’t worry, things have moved on.

Using last night’s leftovers to make your lunch prevents food waste – but you also get to amaze your colleagues with the unending variety of your lunches. If you usually buy your sandwiches at the supermarket, you’ll also save money and prevent plastic waste.

Try different types of bread, rice, salads, or pasta, served with a mixture of fillings, spreads, or whatever your kids didn’t eat from last night’s dinner.

Some ideas that are definitely better than yet another cheese sandwich are:

  • left-over vegetarian/chicken nuggets with chilli mayo and salad leaves served in a wrap
  • left-over (vegan) fish fingers with lemon mayo in a wrap
  • uneaten naan with yoghurt and cucumber
  • cooked-too-many roasted vegetables with couscous
  • reheated pasta and sauce, topped with a few fresh tomatoes
  • reheated chilli served up in a bun like a sloppy joe
  • almost any leftovers folded into an omelette (egg or chickpea based)
  • wilted salad leaves whizzed into a pesto with garlic, lemon juice and cashew nuts, served on toast
  • leftover vegetables mixed through a bean salad, with a simple vinaigrette dressing

Photo credit: Nikizhang on Unsplash

Categories: All actions, Food, In Lockdown, Quick & easy, Saves money, Waste

Eating better step 5 – choose a vegan diet

crispy vegan burger in a bun with salad and vegan cheese

Eating a vegan diet doesn’t have to mean a life of lentils. Seriously, just look at that burger. It’s from Vincent Vegan, Berlin. Yum!

Why go vegan?

Removing all animal products from your diet is the best way to reduce the huge environmental impact caused by commercial animal farming.

What is a vegan diet?

According to the Vegan Society, a vegan diet is based on:

  • fruit
  • vegetables
  • starchy foods e.g. oats, potato, bread, rice and noodles
  • proteins including peas, beans and lentils
  • healthy plant-based fats including omega-3 and omega-6
  • vitamins and minerals like calcium, iron, zinc, vitamins B12 and D, iodine and selenium

It means cutting out meat, dairy, eggs, and any other foods or additives that come from animals.

The good news is that there are so many easy-to-use alternatives to the foods we learned to cook with (and wrongly assumed were essential). For example, we regularly make vegan bread at home (using sunflower or olive oil instead of butter, and oat or almond milk instead of cow’s milk) and it is softer and just as tasty as bread made with a traditional recipe.

Moving towards a vegan diet

Going vegan is a low-risk, cheap, effective way to reduce your environmental impact, but it’s also quite hard – which is why we’re suggesting you get there in stages, particularly if you don’t know any other vegans to help you work out what you’re doing. There’s no shame in starting off as a part-time vegan (e.g. just at weekends, when you have more time to cook from scratch; or a weekday vegan, to make it easier to eat with friends at the weekend).

Any progress is good, and better than making things too hard for yourself and quitting.

Meat substitutes and vegan cheese can be expensive, but you can eat cheaply and healthily if you choose a good variety of vegetables, fruit, nuts and legumes (peas and beans), supplementing with essential nutrients like vitamin B12 and some types of omega-3 fatty acids.

We realise that veganism is a privilege, and that people who are on a very low income, are time-poor and/or don’t have access to adequate cooking facilities may find it difficult to eat well on a vegan diet. This is a political issue and one that you should write to your political representative and the heads of supermarkets about. If this is you, please just do what you can, even if that is just getting through the day.

Choose a vegan diet, but do it safely

This next bit is important; please read it.

Just as many Western diets lack vital nutrients, an unplanned vegan diet can lack some essential nutrients like vitamin B12 and some types of omega-3 fatty acids. If you are following a vegan diet, you need to know what you should be eating or doing to make up the shortfall.

So if you’re going vegan, make sure you read advice from responsible sources like the NHS, the Vegan Society or consult a qualified dietician.

Previous:
Step 4: go vegetarian

Photo credit: Paul Kapischka on Unsplash

Categories: All actions, Cheap, Food, High impact, Influence

Eating better Step 3 – cut out dairy & eggs

dairy-free milk made from almonds and cashews

Why cut out dairy and eggs?

Cow farming, including growing crops for their feed, is a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions and deforestation. So cutting out dairy is an easy way to reduce your environmental footprint.

Many people also choose to cut out dairy for ethical reasons. Cows only produce milk if they’ve been pregnant, in order to feed their calf – but the dairy industry relies on removing the calf from its mother so we can use the milk instead. The separation distresses both the mother and the calf, and male calves are usually slaughtered at just over a year old.

You may think that eggs are cruelty-free – after all, supermarket eggs aren’t fertilised, so no animal is directly killed to produce that egg. However, chickens farmed for eggs (layers) and chickens farmed to produce the next generation (breeders) are usually kept in overcrowded conditions that lead to aggression and disease. Farmers routinely give their chickens antibiotics “just in case”, which leads to antibiotic resistance. And male chicks are an unwanted waste product of the chicken breeding industry, routinely killed at just a day old.

So do we need dairy and eggs?

The simple answer is no! The dairy industry has spent decades convincing us that we need cow’s milk to keep us healthy, but it just isn’t true – in fact, 68% of the world’s population is lactose intolerant, avoiding dairy products altogether, and suffering no ill effects whatsoever[1].

But we do need calcium – we just have to get it from other sources.

Cutting out dairy is getting easier all the time, but if you’re finding it difficult, you don’t have to do it all in one go. It’s better to take small successful steps towards the goal, rather than try to do it all at once and fail. Personally, I found it very easy to give up milk and yoghurt, while cheese took several years. But any progress is better than giving up.

Eggs are a good source of protein, and they are often used as a source of fat and for their binding properties in traditional recipes. The fact that egg is used in so many ways means there’s no one-size-fits-all alternative, and we have to be a bit creative, using vegetable oils, flax seeds, and even apple sauce depending on what property of eggs we’re trying to substitute for.

What are some non-dairy sources of calcium?

You can get calcium from many sources other than dairy products. According to the NHS article “The Vegan Diet”,[2], you can get calcium from:

  • green, leafy vegetables e.g. broccoli, cabbage and okra
  • fortified unsweetened soya
  • rice and oat drinks
  • calcium-set tofu
  • sesame seeds and tahini (an ingredient in hummus)
  • pulses (peas, beans and lentils)
  • bread (in the UK, calcium is added to white and brown flour by law)
  • and dried fruit, such as raisins, prunes, figs and dried apricots

What are some dairy alternatives?

Vegan milk alternatives

There are plenty of different plant-based milk substitutes. Oat, almond, coconut and soya milk are all well-established and popular, while more recent products include milk made from peas and even potatoes. I find oat milk is the most versatile, and it also has the lowest environmental impact – but all plant milks have a lower impact than dairy milk, so whichever plant milk you prefer, go for it.[3]

Vegan butter alternatives

Butter can be replaced with nut butter (like peanut butter) or excellent vegan butter alternatives like Flora Plant Butter, which is available in a block for baking or a tub for easy spreading. Many other vegan butter products are slimy and tasteless, so I’d urge you to avoid wasting your money on them and go straight for the Flora. Alternatively, you could just not use butter at all, and swap it for vegan pesto (we recommend Sacla), vegan mayonnaise (Hellmans) or any jam (jelly).

Vegan egg alternatives

When baking, eggs are easily replaced with alternatives as varied as banana, apple sauce, aquafaba, flax seed, baking soda, lemonade and vegan yoghurt. Use a good vegan recipe to make sure the right balance of fats and moisture is retained – don’t just substitute at random (baking is more like chemistry than cooking and goes wrong easily).

If you miss the egg running out of your breakfast butty, egg yolk can be replaced with vegan butter mixed with nutritional yeast (no one really likes the white bit anyway, right?).

Scrambled eggs can be mocked up using tofu, and omelettes made using chickpea (gram) flour.

Vegan alternatives to honey

Alternatives to honey are agave syrup (which comes from cacti, and is virtually indistinguishable from runny honey) or maple syrup (which has its own delicious flavour).

Vegan yoghurt alternatives

Yoghurt is an easy swap – there are many vegan yoghurt alternatives available. I prefer the coconut-based ones but that’s really a personal choice.

One great thing about buying a big tub of plain vegan yoghurt is its versatility. You can mix it up with agave syrup one day, defrosted fruit the next, then crunchy oatmeal and raisins, jam, or whatever you fancy. Plus if you’re looking for something savoury, you can spoon it straight from the pot, onto a curry, chilli or nachos. Add a splash of lemon juice as you serve it to make it a little bit more tart if necessary.

Vegan cheese alternatives

Vegan cheese took a huge step forward in 2022 with the release of Cathedral City’s Plant Based Dairy Free block. It’s an absolute game changer as (unlike all other vegan cheese) it actually tastes and behaves like mature cheddar. Go on any vegan group and ask what their favourite cheese is, and you’ll see it’s the clear winner. It does smell quite a lot, but you could argue, so does good real cheese.

For other types of cheeses and more recommendations, check out our eco-friendly alternatives page for a list of our favourite vegan alternatives!

Next:
Step 4: go completely vegetarian

Previous:
Step 2: stop eating beef

[1] Storhaug et al, (2017). Country, regional, and global estimates for lactose malabsorption in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet, volume 2, issue 10, P738-746, October 01, 2017

[2] nhs.uk. 2021. The Vegan Diet. [online] Available at: <https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/the-vegan-diet/> [Accessed 17 January 2021].

[3] the Guardian. 2021. Almonds Are Out. Dairy Is A Disaster. So What Milk Should We Drink?. [online] Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/28/what-plant-milk-should-i-drink-almond-killing-bees-aoe> [Accessed 17 January 2021].

Photo credit: Sandi Benedicta on Unsplash

Categories: All actions, Cheap, Food, High impact, In Lockdown

Eating better Step 4 – go completely vegetarian

tomato quiche, vegetarian meal

Cutting out all meat (including chicken and fish) is the next step after beef and dairy.

There are so many reasons to adopt a vegetarian lifestyle – improving your own health, stopping cruelty to animals, reducing your impact on the environment, and saving money. Plus there are so many delicious alternatives to meat.

Don’t worry if you slip up sometimes. 95% there is better than trying and giving up altogether. Do what works for you, but work towards the goal.

Why stop eating chicken?

Chicken has less impact per head than cattle, but there are more of them, and they eat a lot of food. According to Greenpeace, nearly half of the soya the EU imports from Brazil is fed to chickens. This soya is grown on land that used to be rainforest – which accelerates the climate crisis and pushes wildlife towards extinction.[1]

Why stop eating fish?

Eating fish (particularly those caught by large-scale commercial fishing operations) causes significant harm to marine life. In addition to over-fishing (which endangers animals further up the food chain), commercial fishing methods like trawling, gillnets and longlines catch many more species than intended. Affected species include whales, dolphins, turtles, sharks and other species of fish, which may be injured in the process, and are discarded.

Discarded fishing nets and tackle (known as “ghost gear”) make up 10% of plastic pollution in the ocean – and up to 70% of floating macroplastics (the large bits). This plastic waste poses a threat to marine life for decades.[2]

Next:
Step 5: choose a vegan diet

Previous:
Step 3: cut out dairy & eggs

[1] Greenpeace.org.uk. 2021. [online] Available at: <https://www.greenpeace.org.uk/news/is-eating-chicken-better-for-the-environment-than-beef/> [Accessed 10 January 2021].

[2] the Guardian. 2021. Dumped Fishing Gear Is Biggest Plastic Polluter In Ocean, Finds Report. [online] Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/nov/06/dumped-fishing-gear-is-biggest-plastic-polluter-in-ocean-finds-report> [Accessed 10 January 2021].

Photo credit: LUM3N on Unsplash

Categories: All actions, Food, High impact, In Lockdown, Saves money

Eating better step 2 – stop eating beef

black brown and white cows in a green field in sunlight

Why should I stop eating beef?

Cutting out beef (and dairy) is the most effective way to reduce your environmental impact, according to Oxford University research into the environmental impact of farming.[1]

Poore and Nemecek of the University of Oxford compared the greenhouse gas emissions caused by farming and processing animal products with those of substitute vegetable-based proteins, like peas and soy. But they didn’t just look at one study. This was a meta-study, meaning they analysed the data from multiple studies in order to overcome any bias and understand the overall trend. They analysed 570 consistent and high-quality studies, covering approximately 38,700 commercially viable farms across 119 countries, and 40 food products, representing about 90% of the global protein and calorie intake.

So how bad is beef for the environment?

The study’s results show that the production of just 100g of beef protein (about half a steak, or a portion of chilli) causes an average of 50kg (110 lbs) of greenhouse gases to be produced. The worst producers caused a staggering 105kg (231 lbs) of greenhouse gases to be produced. In comparison, lamb causes 20kg of greenhouse gases per 100g produced.

However, the production of plant-based protein has significantly less impact on the environment. For example, tofu causes just 2kg (just under 41/2lb) of greenhouse gases per 100g, and peas just 0.4kg (less than 1 lb) per 100g.[2]

What can I replace meat with?

Try going meat-free a few times a week so you can learn how to use other ingredients like lentils, mushrooms, tofu, Quorn or vegan textured vegetable protein alternatives, then cut out beef altogether.

Cutting out beef could also save you money because vegetables are generally cheaper than good-quality meat.

You’re allowed to fail sometimes! Don’t give up – all progress is good.

Next:
Step 3: cut out dairy & eggs

Previous:
Step 1: go meat-free a few times a week

[1] Avoiding meat and dairy is ‘single biggest way’ to reduce your impact on Earth, The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/may/31/avoiding-meat-and-dairy-is-single-biggest-way-to-reduce-your-impact-on-earth (Accessed: February 20, 2023).

[2] Poore, J. and Nemecek, T. (2018). Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers. Science, 360(6392), pp.987-992. Fig. 1.

Photo credit: Kate Spencer

Categories: All actions, Food, High impact, In Lockdown, Saves money

Eating better Step 1 – go meat-free a few times a week

meat free meal with salsa, chips, dip and tomatoes

Why should we cook without meat a few times each week?

Avoiding meat and dairy products is one of the most effective things you can do to reduce your environmental impact.[1] That’s because meat and dairy provide just 18% of calories – but they use 83% of farmland and produce 60% of agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions![2]

But if you and your family are used to eating meat and dairy, completely cutting them out isn’t going to be easy. That’s why we recommend going meat-free a few times a week to start with. It’s an easy way to introduce die-hard meat eaters to alternative foods without making them feel too cheated and resistant.

How do you start cutting out meat?

It’s easy to find out just how tasty meat-free and dairy-free meals can be. If you’re not used to cooking, most supermarkets now stock a good range of vegetarian and vegan ready meals.
Meanwhile, practice making some easy meals. Eating sustainably is easier, cheaper and more interesting if you know how to cook from scratch.
Check out our list of eco-friendly food alternatives for our guide to the best dairy and meat replacements.

If you have some experience cooking, start by searching Pinterest or BBC Good Food for recipe inspiration. You’ll have a lot of fun discovering foods you didn’t know existed. Look for recipes with a small number of familiar ingredients to start with, or swap out the meat in a meal that you’re used to making.

Can you save money by going meat-free?

Vegetables are generally cheaper than meat, so eating plant-based meals can save you money. For example:

  • You can buy the ingredients for vegan chilli, including plant-based mince, for £2.01 (Aldi, April 23)
  • It would cost £3.85 if you made the same chilli with minced beef (Aldi, April 23)

Alternatively, if you’re buying ready meals, you can save money by buying a side dish and treating it as your main. For example:

  • Buy cauliflower cheese (Aldi, £2.09 for 750g) instead of a family-sized beef lasagne (Aldi, £3.69),
  • Buy aloo gobi saag (Sainburys, £2.50) instead of chicken tikka masala (Sainsburys, £4.25).

Next:
Step 2: stop eating beef

[1,2] Avoiding meat and dairy is ‘single biggest way’ to reduce your impact on Earth, The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/may/31/avoiding-meat-and-dairy-is-single-biggest-way-to-reduce-your-impact-on-earth (Accessed: February 20, 2023).

Photo credit: Ralph (Ravi) Kayden on Unsplash

Categories: All actions, Food, In Lockdown, Quick & easy, Saves money, WasteLeave a comment