According to the charity Friends of the Earth, the UK only recycles about 11 per cent of the waste that could actually be reused one of the lowest figures in Europe.

Many of us would like to be more environmentally friendly but while we are happy to support the principle, our hectic lifestyles often seem to get in the way of our good intentions.

But making our homes more environmentally friendly is not as difficult as we might think. In many cases, small changes can help to minimise our home's impact on the environment, and maybe even save us some money in the process.

Most homes use large amounts of energy and unless you have installed solar panels or another ecologically friendly power source most of the energy comes from unsustainable sources, such as fossil fuels. It is possible to switch your energy provider to one that generates green' energy from wind or wave power.

While they cannot separate your energy source from those supplied by conventional power, these companies will make sure that the power you use is replaced into the national grid by energy sustainable sources.

Around the house you can do lots of other things to reduce wasted energy. Keeping a lid on boiling saucepans, only boiling the amount of water you actually need in your kettle and insulating your hot water tank will all stop heat escaping and reduce the amount of money you spend. It's also a good idea to invest in some energy-saving light bulbs. They are a bit more expensive than conventional bulbs but you won't have to replace them as often as they last about 12 times longer and each bulb you have could knock about £7 off your electricity bill each year.

As well as being big consumers of energy, our homes also contribute to pollution when we use toxic chemicals for everyday cleaning. So instead of using expensive chemicals to clean the bathroom. Try cleaning the old-fashioned way using less harmful substances such as bicarbonate of soda, salt, lemon juice or vinegar, just like our grandparents did.

We can also do a lot to reduce the amount of water we waste each day. The biggest water guzzler in our homes is the toilet, which can use a massive nine litres of water for every flush. Installing a hippo' a small plastic bag in your toilet cistern means that some of the water is displaced and you can save around three litres per flush. They are available free of charge from Thames Water, so log onto the website at www.thameswater.co.uk/waterwise for more information.

Leaving the tap on while you clean your teeth will waste around six litres per minute, so turning it off until you actually need it will save quite a considerable amount.

In the kitchen you can set up your own recycling, programme, reusing bottles and jars for storage. If you can't reuse them yourself, make sure you make use of the local recycling facilities.

Almost everything can be recycled, from bottles and cans to books and clothes, and everything we pass on for recycling means that less rubbish gets put into incinerators or landfill.