1. Buy products made of recycled content materials. Toilet Paper, Dining Tables, Glassware, Bin Liners, Coffins... the list is endless.

2. Watch what, where and how you eat & drink. Look for places that provide reusable crockery, cutlery & glasses. If you don’t need a lid, napkin, sugar satchel, bag, sauce, or other condiments, then let staff know at the time of purchase. More than 20% of items disposed of by cafes have been unused by customers!

3. Have a garage sale. Other people may be able to re-use your old stuff, so it doesn't have to be thrown away. Then give the money to www.rainforestrescue.org.au

4. Start a compost pile to recycle leftover food, bread scraps and fruit and vegetables. Throw away fatty foods like meat and cheese, which creates smells and attract pests.

5. Use a clean, low-phosphate or phosphate-free detergent in your laundry. Phosphates can ultimately damage streams and rivers.

6. Recycle glass. The energy saved from recycling one glass bottle could light a 100-watt light bulb for four hours.

7. Recycle old newspapers. If we all recycled our weekend newspapers, we could save more than 50,000 trees a week.

8. Recycle aluminum. The energy saved from one recycled could run a television set for three hours.

9. Instead of plastic bags, use reusable containers to store food in the fridge or when packing lunches. If 50 percent of Australian homes used 10 fewer plastic food bags a month, we'd save more than 250 million bags a year.

10. Take a reusable cloth or mesh bag to go shopping. Villa & Hut have them available for just $1.00 and donate the money to World Vision! Go to www.worldvision.com.au

11. Plant a tree. If every Australian family planted just one tree, more than 1 million tones of 'greenhouse gas' could be removed from the atmosphere every year.

12. Drive less. This is a challenge in a society that loves its cars, but consider walking or riding a bicycle whenever possible, even if it’s just once or twice a week.

13. Carpool to work. If every car carried one more passenger, we could save more than half a million litres of petrol.

14. Over the long haul, rechargeable batteries will not only help the environment but will save money, too. Australia uses approximately 20 million non-rechargeable batteries every year.

15. Call your electricity provider and ask about the availability of an "energy audit." They may be able to show you how to save energy and money on your monthly bills.

16. Use latex or water based paint instead of oil-based. It's easier to dispose of and has fewer toxic chemicals.

17. Don't start your dishwasher or clothes washer and dryer until you have a full load.

18. A household can save up to 50,000 litres of water a year by not leaving the tap running when doing things like brushing teeth, shaving, washing dishes in the sink, flushing number ones or taking more than 2 minute showers.

19. Keep your car properly tuned and tyres properly inflated. A well-tuned car with the correct tyre pressure uses approximately 10 percent less petrol.

20. Set your lawnmower blade on the highest setting, leaving grass 5 to 10 cm long. This encourages healthier roots and protects the soil better from the hot sun, meaning less water is necessary to keep the lawn green and growing.

21. Ever been to the beach and seen it strewn with garbage? Next time you go, take a bag and take out not only what you brought in, but a few things left by someone else as well. Visit www.surfrider.org.au

22. Put a plastic bottle in your toilet cistern to act as a displacement device. You will use less water, about 15 to 40 percent for most households.

23. When you buy things, ask yourself, 'Is it recyclable? Does it have too much packaging? Is it the most eco sensible option?' - This will also start educating the kids to think this way. Visit www.eco-shout.org for a real green view.

24. Australians collectively receive almost 40,000 tons of "junk mail" every year; if 100,000 households stopped their junk mail, this could save up to 150,000 trees. Get a sign on your letter box saying “no junk mail please”. Report irresponsible junk mail to www.cleanup.org.au

25. Start a 'save-it' drawer with containers for things like rubber-bands, paper clips, buttons, twist ties, nails and other reusable or easily tossed-out items.

26. Look for 'Recycle Bins' wherever you are. If your local club, sports-ground, school, shopping centre, park or playground doesn’t have one – then lobby them to get one.

27. Buy in bulk when grocery shopping. It saves money and uses a lot less packaging.

28. Use cloth nappies to cut down on the 1 billion disposables used by Australia each year - just about enough to stretch to the moon and back!

29. Insulate your house properly - and if you are renting - make your landlord do it!

30. Set your heater 'cooler' and your cooler 'warmer' - just 1 or 2 degrees could save 10% of power usage & power consumption. If every Australian family reduced it's average heating temperatures by 2 degrees Celsius in winter, we'd save about 50,000 barrels of oil a year.

31. Make sure your household correctly uses the council's garbage recycling program. Check with your council to ensure that you are recycling as many items as possible - but not throwing garbage into the recycling bin and causing more waste and energy.

32. Avoid Styrofoam at all costs. It is completely non-biodegradable and simply won't go away.

33. Use 'low-flow' taps and shower heads to reduce water usage by as much as 50 percent.

34. Photocopy & office paper is easily recyclable! The average business or office throws away more than 100 kilo of high-grade recyclable paper each year rather than putting into recycling. Making one tone of recycled paper uses about 60 percent of the energy of making one ton of brand new paper.

35. Help protect the ozone by not buying aerosol spray cans wherever possible.

36. Replace incandescent light bulbs with fluorescents, or use one 75-watt bulb instead of two 40-watt bulbs. You'll get more light and use less energy.

37. Make it a habit to turn off lights when leaving a room, or if there is already sufficient daylight coming in thru the windows. Artificial lighting can account for more than 40% of electricity use!

38. Bring a coffee cup to work or your favorite café instead of using a Styrofoam or disposable cup.

39. Be a smart shopper and buy things that are the best option for the environment.
OK - it may sometimes cost a bit more - but it is the least you can do!
Visit www.greenpagesaustralia.com.au

40. Finally: Lead by example. Educate your kids. Spread the word. Recycle. Reduce, and reuse whenever possible. Visit www.greenhouse.gov.au

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