Being green can save you money as well as being kinder to the planet. Here's how:
Switch to renewable energy
Did you know that renewable energy can be as cost effective as using one of the Big 6 energy companies? So change your energy supplier to save money and reduce your climate impact.
The Big Clean Switch website will do all the hard work for you. This comparison website will find you the best deal from a selection of renewable energy companies.
Replace your light bulbs:
Use LED lights: these use a minimal amount of energy and can last as long as twenty years so are much cheaper in the long run.
Here's 3 words to live your life by: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle
Reduce your plastic use:
Plastic is made from fossil fuels. 8 million tonnes of plastics enter our oceans every year and by 2050 there will be more plastic in the sea than fish. The UN Environment Agency has launched a global #CleanSeas campaign to eliminate marine litter and single-use plastic by the year 2022.
To reduce your climate impact and save money at the same time you can:
Use long-life shopping bags
Drink in rather than take out or take a reusable cup with you
Buy a reusable water bottle and fill it with tap water
Shop at charity shops
Sign up to 10:10's Carbon Crush challenge to kickstart your carbon cutting with a month-long toolkit of tips, actions, advice and encouragement. They will send you emails about the range of actions you can take to kick the fossil fuel habit.
Campaigning
The UK government has taken some steps to address the plastics issue but they need to do much more:
o The Plastic Bag Tax introduced in 2015 has reduced the number of plastic bags used by more than 80 percent in England
o The microplastics ban came into effect this January 2018.
If you want the Government to do more to ban plastic:
· Join the Greenpeace campaign and take the Plastics Pledge
· Join in the Keep Britain Tidy campaign
· Subscribe to Ethical Consumer magazine to find out more about the companies you buy goods from and how seriously they take their environmental and social responsibilities
Come along to the CANWM Energy and Resources workshop on April 25th, 5pm-7:30pm at the John Lewis Community Hub, Birmingham B2 4AU - its right above New Street Station in the heart of Birmingham.
