save the environment become health and wealthier * Sort out your rubbish. Organic matter e.g. potato peelings, left over food, tea leaves etc. can be transferred straight to a compost heap in the garden and used as a good, natural fertiliser for the plants. Aluminium cans, glass bottles and newspapers etc. can be taken to bottle and can banks and wastepaper skips. Find out where they are by asking your local council or library. * Use recycled paper to help save trees. Everyone in Britain uses about 6 trees worth of paper every year. Chlorine bleach is usually used to make newspapers and this pollutes rivers. Its better to use unbleached, recycled paper whenever you can. * Take your old clothes to charity shops. Some are sold, others are returned to textile mills for recycling. * Try to avoid buying plastic. It's hard to recycle. One way to cut down on plastic is to refuse to use carrier bags offered by supermarkets and use strong, long lasting shopping bags instead, or re-use plastic bags over and over again, until they wear out. * Don't buy over-packed goods. Many things we buy have unnecessary amounts of plastic and paper around them. * Never buy products made up of tropical hardwoods e.g. mahogany and teak. It is better to buy only pine, oak, ash or beech because they can be replaced. *Garden and flower shops sometimes sell rainforest orchids that have been imported. If you buy an orchid, check that it has been grown in Britain. *Some parrots and macaws are unfortunately still imported. If you want a parrot as a pet, make sure it has been hatched in Britain. *Eating a beefburger may be helping to destroy the rainforest! Most burgers in Britain are made from European cattle. However, the cattle are often fed on soya bean and a lot of that comes from Brazil where large areas of forest have been destroyed to make soya fields. Before buying a burger, ask where the cattle came from and what they were fed on. Try a veggie burger for a change! * Use less energy by switching off lights when rooms are not in use, not wasting hot water, not overheating rooms and not boiling more water than necessary when making a cup of tea! * Use a bicycle or walk instead of using a car for short trips. * If you spot pollution, such as oil on the beach, report it to the local council. If you suspect a stream is polluted, report it to the local Environmental Health Officer * If you use chlorine-based bleach or detergents containing phosphates you are contributing to water pollution. Try to buy 'environmentally-friendly' products. * Don't buy aerosols containing CFCs. Actually, it's not a good idea to buy any aerosols. Even 'ozone friendly' aerosols may contain harmful chemicals and spray cans are difficult to dispose of - they cannot be recycled. Pump-action sprays are a much better alternative. * A lot of packaging e.g. fast-food cartons, are polystyrene 'blown' with CFCs. Try to avoid items packed with this polystyrene. * If you know of anyone getting rid of an old fridge, tell them that the CFCs can be drained out and recycled - contact the local council and they will dispose of the fridge safely. New fridges can be bought with less CFCs in them. * Don't waste electricity. Electricity is produced by burning coal, oil and gas and this action gives off carbon dioxide. * Car fumes produce carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide - so try to cut down on car journeys if possible. Use a bike or walk - it's good exercise for you too! * Recycle as much of your waste as you can. Methane, the most effective 'greenhouse gas', is released into the air as the rubbish in landfill sites rots. idea copied from idea of JB in Uganda