Thirty positive actions for a sustainable Earth

There are many ways we can use our human energy to lighten the load on natural resources and tread lightly on our home planet. Check how many of these you do already:

1. Recycle and re-use
Wherever possible, separate waste into compost material, bottles, tins, paper, clothing etc and make sure that these get recycled. See if your local council has a policy for recycling, food reclamation to fuel or even methane extraction from waste. If they don't - start one. Ask your neighbours to contribute to a local composting station.

"The UK has one of the worst recycling records in Europe (12.4%) compared with 64% in Austria, 52% in Belgium, 50% in Germany and 47% in the Netherlands.
In the UK we bury 80% of our rubbish in landfills, compared to the Swiss who only landfill 7% of their rubbish." (The Observer 2004)

2. Shop locally or order a veg box
Give your local farmers a boost by buying direct - either by visiting farms, farmer's markets or through vegetable box schemes - which are usually organic. This saves transport costs in 'food miles' and guarantees, fresh, local, un-polluted and healthy, in-season food. Try and avoid supermarkets and shop locally when possible to enhance your own local micro-economy.

"The average household [in UK] spends