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Energy Efficiency & Recycling

Easy ways to cut your fuel bills:

With fears for global warming growing it makes sense for each household to do what they can to help contribute to the fight the problem. And it makes even more sense because if you make your home more energy efficient it will save you money. The average UK household is paying around £305 a year for gas and £260 for electricity - and the typical household can cut between £100-£200 a year off their fuel bills without losing either warmth or comfort by simply using energy efficiently and effectively.

Top Tips

Some Facts

Recycling

Top tips for cutting your fuel bills:

  1. Check that you are using the cheapest supplier
    It is easy to do this at somewhere like uswitch.com, a website that offers free, independent and impartial advice. The site calculates
    how much you can save - based on your current bills. So, in the comfort of your own home or at your desk you can find out how much better off you would be if you changed suppliers.
  2. Switch off unnecessary lights
    A simple, straightforward tip - but difficult for families with teenagers! In a typical home, lighting accounts for 20% of the electricity ill so if you can cut back here you will save money.
  3. Only boil as much water as you need
    If we all did this we'd save enough electivity to power two thirds of the street lighting in the UK. (Remember to cover the element if you're using an electric kettle.)
  4. Change to energy saving bulbs
    By buying an energy efficient light bulb rather than the other alternatives you can cut energy wastage by a massive 75 per cent. They cost a bit more than ordinary light bulbs (about £3.50 each) but they last 12 times longer and could save up to £9 on your annual electricity bill or £100 over the bulb's lifetime.
  5. Turn your central heating thermostat down
    Just turning it down by 1 degree it could save you up to 10% of your heating bill.
  6. Close your curtains at dusk
    This helps cut down heat loss.
  7. Forget standby
    Only use the heat and light appliances you really need - don't leave TVs or videos on standby. Also switch off this PC screen when it's not being used!
  8. Wash your laundry at 30C
    Washing at 30C rather than normal temperatures means you use 40% less electricity.
  9. Buy energy efficient appliances
    When replacing appliances, consider their energy efficiency rating. Look for the Energy Efficiency Recommended Logo as a guide to help you choose the most suitable product.
  10. Draughtproof windows and doors
    You can easily fix draughty windows and doors with minimal DIY skills and little cost. Even hanging a curtain behind the door, will save you warmth and stop draughts which could save you roughly £10-£20 a year.
  11. Put aluminium foil behind any radiators fitted to outside walls
    Ordinary kitchen foil will do, or you can buy specially designed panels from DIY stores It will cost around £10 but could save you double that.

Some facts:

  • A forest approximately three and a half times the size of Greater London would need to be planted to absorb the CO2 emitted annually from UK housing.
  • If every household in the UK installed three energy saving light bulbs, electricity equivalent to the output of a typical power station would be saved each year.
  • If every household in the UK replaced their old fridge freezer with an Energy Efficiency Recommended one, electricity equivalent to the output of two typical power stations would be saved each year.

Recycling:

Every year the average Hammersmith & Fulham household throws away approximately one tonne of rubbish- the same weight as a car!

The council has been set a challenging targets by central government to reduce the amount of rubbish we send to landfill. To help us achieve this the council has introduced the Smart Sack kerbside collection service, the Smart Bank and a seasonal green garden waste collection.

During April 2005 to April 2006 residents diverted approximately 13,300 tonnes of material from landfill. This means that approximately 22% of our rubbish was recycled in 05/06.

Please continue to recycle as much as you can to help us reduce rubbish being sent to landfill.

Recycle Western Riverside is a 5 year Western Riverside Waste Authority campaign encouraging residents to recycle, reduce their rubbish and buy more recycled products. The campaign works within the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham. See www.westernriverside.org.ukfor details.

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