Eco hacks: 30 ways to a greener home

If you want to lessen your impact on the environment, small changes can make a big difference, finds Tom Ough

With the help of Kate Haines, Ross Lammas, Wendy Graham, and the gardening writer Kate Bradbury, we’ve compiled 30 easy ways of making your home more environmentally friendly.

KITCHEN DON’T USE A BIN LINER

Why? It’s made of single-use plastic. Instead, says Graham, “line the bottom of your kitchen bin with old newspaper, and simply tip the contents of your bin into your wheelie bin when the bin is full”. If you’re composting your food waste, it shouldn’t smell or get wet.

LOOK FOR UNEXPECTED RECYCLING OPPORTUNITIES

Did you know that it’s now possible to recycle crisp packets? For details, and to find out what else you can recycle even if your council doesn’t collect it, Haines recommends terracycle.com.

CLEAN YOUR COILS

You’ve filled your fridge with seasonal, low-air-miles veg, you’re making use of leftovers, and you’re turning down meat, eggs and dairy. Good for you. But is your fridge working effectively? Check its energy rating, and clean the condenser coils behind it.

ASSESS APPLIANCES BEFORE YOU BUY THEM

An efficient washing machine or cooker will save you a lot of money. Sust-it.net carries comparisons of both.

FIND A GREEN ENERGY SUPPLIER

Many energy suppliers, such as Bulb, Ecotricity, Good Energy and Solarplicity, provide 100 per cent renewable energy to the National Grid. They may even save you money. Use the comparisons on sust-it.net to learn more.

DON’T USE CLING FILM

Beeswax paper is a good alternative. You can buy it online or make your own (Graham has a guide on moralfibres.co.uk). Reusable containers are always useful: upturned bowls will protect refrigerated food

KEEP A LID ON IT

Pans, that is – save energy by cooking efficiently. Don’t overfill a kettle either, and only use dishwashers and washing machines when you’ve filled them up.

INDOORS RECYCLE CLOTHING

Even if fabric isn’t not good enough for a charity shop, it could still be useful as padding for chairs and car seats, cleaning cloths and industrial blankets. Use recyclenow.com’s recycling locator to find out where you can deposit it.

MAKE YOUR BEDDING ORGANIC

As Haines argues on greenfinder. co.uk, organic bedding – whose fabric has been made without pesticides – is not only kinder on human skin, but kinder to the environment.

USE LED BULBS

They cost more but will quickly repay you with their efficiency, and can cast as warm a light as a halogen bulb. Even better, use a smart lighting system, such as Nest, that turns them off when you’re away. But bear in mind that some putatively energy-saving tech, such as smart plugs, may consume more energy than it saves.

FIND SECOND-HAND FURNITURE

Or “antique” and “vintage” furniture, if you will. Failing that, look for the Forest Stewardship Council mark to make sure that a newer piece is made from responsibly grown timber.

OUT AND ABOUT TECH HAS A COST

Your data, whether videos you’re streaming or calculations made by your smart thermostat, go through servers that use vast amounts of energy. Some bigger tech companies, such as Amazon and Google, have switched their servers to renewable energy or are heading that way – but many data centres don’t do this.

MAKE YOUR MONEY GREENER

Many high-street banks invest in companies that damage the environment or harm animals. Ethical Consumer (ethical consumer.org) recommends moving your money to places such as Co-Op Bank, Triodos Bank, and the app-based Monzo.

USE ZERO-WASTE SHOPS

Fill your own jars with food, drink, cleaning products and more. Zerowastenear. me has a great interactive map with shops near you.

BORROW EQUIPMENT

Your vacuum cleaner and power tools spend 99 per cent of their lives gathering dust. Find networks that allow you to borrow such items: borroclub.co.uk in Birmingham, libraryofthings.co.uk in south London, and local Facebook groups. Or find cast-offs via uk.freecycle.org.

BE CAREFUL OF TOTE BAGS

The creation of your cotton tote uses so much water and energy that you’ll have to use it thousands of times to outweigh the impact of a single plastic bag. So it may be better to use plastic bags, but get good mileage out of them. Haines carries a Globe Baggee (baggee. co.uk), which is the little ball that you stuff with bags and attach to a key chain/rucksack.

GARDEN DON’T USE PLASTICS

Plastic is a menace that ends up in the food chain, says Bradbury. “Buy wooden and metal tools and look after them.” She recommends pots made of coir, made of the unused husks of coconuts, or bamboo. Instead of plastic sheeting to block weeds, use cardboard.

GROW NATIVE PLANTS

“British native plants have a relationship with wildlife that has been going since the last Ice Age,” Bradbury notes. For example, butterflies always lay eggs in native plants. “Caterpillars are at the bottom of the food chain, so more of them means more birds and hedgehogs and everything else. Native trees include birch and hawthorn, native shrubs include guelder rose and spindle, and then there are smaller plants such as foxgloves and primrose.” To nurture such plants, why not make your own plant food?

“Steep nettle leaves or comfrey leaves in water for a couple of weeks. It will have the same effect as commercially available plant food.”

DON’T USE PEAT

“Peat is an incredible wildlife habitat, it’s very good at taking carbon from the atmosphere and it even prevents flooding, so it’s terrible that we use it as compost. You can get loads of peat-free mixes online.”

TEAR OUT YOUR DECKING

“Plastic lawns, pavements and decking take away habitats and create a sterile environment. Installing them involves emissions and keeping them contributes to the urban heat island effects. Take your decking out and grow some plants.”

Wildlife Gardening for Everyone and Everything, by Kate Bradbury (Bloomsbury Wildlife), is out now.

BATHROOM MINIMISE YOUR USE OF CHEMICAL CLEANERS

Brands such as Ecover are much greener than the industry standard, though it’s rare that you’ll need anything more than lemons, bicarbonate of soda and white wine vinegar.

USE LITTLE AND OFTEN

Even if you’re cleaning a loo. Haines recommends this approach; Graham recommends the use of soda crystals, which are easy to find in supermarkets and are very good at clearing natural stains.

CLEAN UP YOUR TEETH-CLEANING

You might have heard of bamboo toothbrushes. What about zerowaste toothpaste? Haines recommends Denttabs, which are minty tablets that fizz up in your mouth.

LOOK FOR ORGANIC BEAUTY PRODUCTS

Greenchoices.org offers some yardsticks for buying cosmetics: is it organic (that is, does it avoid pesticides)? Is it certified as animal friendly by Cruelty Free International (look for their leaping bunny logo)? And – do you really need it?