Green Living

Re-use. It's that simple.

The aim of this column is to publicise good ideas for both the committed and the reluctant environmentalist. Thank you to those of you who wrote in to me. You will find some of your ideas here. Please keep writing to me at the address below and together we might just make a difference.

Plastic carrier bags: We each use and throw away over 300 plastic bags each year. Most plastic bags are used once before ending up in landfill. Once buried plastic bags can take 300 years to break down. We can reduce the number of plastic bags we use by taking re-useable bags with us when we go shopping. Plastic bags that we do end up with can be reused and then recycled at recycling points provided by many supermarkets.

On the theme of re-using things I was told that a leaky hot water bottle, half filled with sand makes an excellent garden kneeler. Also old boots, filled with soil, make interesting garden planters.

If, like me, you love oranges don't throw the peel away. Fresh peel on the flowerbeds deters cats, dry peel makes an excellent fire lighter and any peel can be composted.

Finally support your milkman. Glass milk bottles are re-used 30 times, not once like plastic bottles or cartons. This reduces waste and even if you recycle your plastic re-use is better for the environment than recycling. Buying your milk from the milkman also helps to support and safeguard a threatened local amenity.

Revd Nigel Tuffnell