Ever wondered how much waste could actually be recycled? A staggering 50% of all waste thrown away in Britain could be recycled, but is being carelessly thrown onto landfill sites.
What can you do to help tackle this problem?
Have you ever tried Pre-cycling? Have you ever heard of Pre-cycling?
A majority of people haven’t heard the term, but could easily lower the amount of waste thrown away at home, and ultimately lower the amount of recycled waste ending up in landfill sites around the country.
So what is “Pre-cycling?”
Pre-cycling is the term used when making rational decisions when purchasing products. For example, you can save waste when at the supermarket by purchasing loose fruit and vegetables, instead of buying them packaged in unnecessary plastic containers or bags.
This will give you the chance to pick the best quality, and most ripe fruit, instead of the pre-packaged and probably unripe fruit. An even better way to help your local community would be to go down to the local “Pick Your Own” farm, and cut out all unnecessary packaging altogether, and you’ll be doing your bit by supporting local producers.
Sometimes packaging for products is essential, so try to choose the product that has been packaged in the most sustainable and recyclable packaging. Cardboard boxes and paper bags for example are a lot easier to decompose than plastic, so keep this in mind when buying packaged products. So next time you’re out doing your shopping, give Pre-cycling a try by choosing products with the least amount of packaging.
Dutch scientists have grown a pork chop using stem cells, which could offer an alternative eco friendly way to farming livestock.
Mark Post from Maastricht University said: “If we took stem cells from one pig and multiplied it by a million, we’d need a million fewer pigs to get the same amount of meat.”
During this snowy weather in the UK, why not help the fridge/freezer out and keep things cool outside before placing them in the fridge. The fridge is one of biggest energy consumers in the household, so by cooling things before placing them in the fridge can reduce its energy consumption significantly.
Do make sure that pesky animals do not decide to share the wonders you have placed in the garden. Use containers, bowls, and cake covers as effective defences from garden animals.
Ever stopped to think how much water you use in a day? Not many people do, and it can be surprising when you start to consider the pressure that our water consumption puts on the environment, and the costs of water filtering, purification and pumping.
Our first seasonal recipe for January, with pork belly and pears. Serves 4 generously, 6 reasonably:
Ingredients
2-2.5 kg Pork Belly (skin scored)
3-4 pears
3-4 cloves of garlic
2 tsp dried thyme
1 tbsp olive oil
200ml pork/vegetable stock
Soy Sauce
Table salt and ground black pepper
Before roasting the pork, place on a rack in the sink and pour boiling water over the skin, this will help to form better crackling later on. Leave to cool for 10 minutes, and dry off the excess water.
Chop the garlic cloves finely, and then crush using the knife blade with a pinch of table salt. Mix with olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper, and rub into the meat of the pork belly, making sure none of the mixture ends up on the skin.
Rub 1 tsp of salt into the skin of the pork belly. Try to get the salt into the scores of the skin t0 get a better crackling.
Roast in an roasting tray for 1.5 hours (skin side up) at 200C | 400F. Add the halved pears and cook for another 15-18 minutes. Increase the temperature to 240C | 475F for another 25 minutes, or until the prok belly skin has turned golden and crisp. If the skin hasnt crisped, remove the pears and transfer the pork belly to a grill for 1-2 minutes.
Transfer the pork belly and pears to a serving dish and keep warm.
Remove the fat from the roasting tray, leaving the meat juices behind. Place onto hob on a medium heat and add 1 tbsp of soy sauce. Stir for 30 seconds to remove the sticky juices from the tray, then add the stock. Leave to reduce until preferred consistency is reached, then season to taste.
Let’s get the ball rolling with some Energy Saving Tips. This one is for mac users, and shows you how to customise your energy saving settings in your System Preferences:
Hello, and welcome to the new Easy Green Store blog. I’ll be sharing energy saving tips, a few seasonal recipes and a bit of news about the Easy Green Store website.
