Energy Saving Week tackles waste
14/10/2009

This year, the theme for Energy Saving Week (19-25 October) is WASTE... helping people across the UK to stop wasting their time, money and energy!

For each day of the week, there is a mini-theme which you can get involved in:

• Monday: Wasteful behaviour
• Tuesday: Warmer homes day (insulation)
• Wednesday: Smarter driving day (transport)
• Thursday: Switch off/turn down/turn off day
• Friday: Buy better day

"Liftshare has always been a great supporter of Energy Saving Week," said founder Ali Clabburn. "We all know that we can no longer afford to keep throwing away our valuable resources as recklessly as we did in the past - and this week gives you a fun opportunity to learn how to save yourself money by making less wasteful living choices.

"Obviously Wednesday is a particular focus for us! If you can't ride or walk on your journey, why not make it the day you give car-sharing a try? You could find that it totally changes the way you think about travel - whilst totally changing your monthly fuel bill too!"

To find out what's happening in your local area during Energy Saving Week, contact your local Energy Saving Trust advice centre on 0800 512 012. Ask them what activities and easy-to-do tips or in-depth energy saving advice.

Top Tips from the Energy Saving Trust

The average home can save £300 a year by being energy efficient.
Cut your bills and make your home cosier in the winter with these simple steps.

Cheap and simple energy saving tips

1. Turning your thermostat down by 1ºC could cut your heating bills by up to 10 per cent and save you around £65 per year.

2. Is your water too hot? Your cylinder thermostat shouldn't need to be set higher than 60ºC/140ºF.

3. Close your curtains at dusk to stop heat escaping through the windows.

4. Always turn off the lights when you leave a room.

5. Don't leave appliances on standby and remember not to leave appliances on charge unnecessarily.

6. It's best to wait until you have a full load if you're using the washing machine, tumble dryer or dishwasher; but if you really can't wait, then use the half-load or economy programme.

7. Only boil as much water as you need (but remember to cover the elements if you're using an electric kettle).

8. A dripping tap wastes at least 5,500 litres of water a year: that's enough water wasted to fill a paddling pool every week for the whole summer. If you are on a water meter, mending your dripping tap could save you over £18 a year.

9. Replace your light bulbs with energy saving recommended ones: each one you fit can reduce your lighting costs by around £40 over the lifetime of the bulb - and they last around 10 times longer than ordinary light bulbs.

10. Do a home energy check. Just answer some simple questions about your home and we'll give you a free, impartial report telling you how you could save around £300 a year on your household energy bills.

For more information visit: www.energysavingtrust.org.uk