The ingredients used to brew a local beer may use about 600 carbon miles but a beer from a major brewery can use up to 20,000 miles in total.
Bottled Water - Minimize use and buy local
1.5 million tonnes of plastic is used to bottle water. Just think about the energy and fuel consumed in the packaging process and the transporting of 89 billion litres of bottled water around the world.
Bury rather than Cremate
Apart from using more energy, cremation releases toxins such as formaldehyde and 11% of mercury emissions into the atmosphere. Burial also locks your carbon in the ground.
Central Heating - Turn your thermostat down by 1 Degrees C
If you are comfortable still, reducing your room temperature by 1ºC could cut your heating bills by up to 10% and save you around £40 per year.
Compost your Food Scraps
About a third of our household waste can be composted. 27,000,000 tonnes of organic waste such as a tea bags and peelings go to landfill where they do not biodegrade due to the lack of oxygen and can create methane, a Green House Gas. No meat or cooked food should be composted.
Kettle Filling
If we all boiled just as much as we need we'd save enough electricity to power two thirds of the street lighting in the UK. Remember to cover the element if you're using an electric kettle.
Paints - Use Natural
Solvent based paints create up to 30 tonnes of waste for every tonne of paint made.
Public Transport
Based on average occupancies, public transport can provide fuel consumptions up to 500 miles per gallon (reference - "Fuel efficiency in transportation"). Increasing average occupancies will give extra travel for minimal environmental cost.
Recycling
GLASS - In one year 600,000 tonnes of glass was recycled in the UK saving enough energy to power every primary school for one year. The UK only recycles 25% of its glass bottles.
Shop Local First
In 1996 434,000 tonnes of apples were imported into the UK, 202,000 tonnes from outside of the EU. 1kg of apples imported from New Zealand creates 1kg of transport related Carbon Dioxide. Support your local Farmers Markets, Farm Shops and local independent traders.
Slow Down if you have the Time
Driving at 50mph uses 25% less fuel than at 70mph.
Wash your laundry at the Lowest Practical Temperatures
Washing at 30 Degrees C rather than normal temperatures means you use 40% less electricity.