Helping residents tackle climate change

Carbon footprint

One thing you can do straightaway, is to look at your carbon footprint

WWF Footprint Calculator

Many of your carbon emissions will be from the way you heat your home, how you travel, what you eat and drink and the amount of waste you produce.

Energy

Severn Wye Energy Agency have produced a 101 tops tips to save you energy and money such as:

• Set your heating to turn off a short time before you go to bed or leave the house.
• A thick curtain behind the front door can stop heat escaping.
• Try to reduce your shower time by 30- 60 seconds. It’s easy to zone out in the shower, but long showers use a lot of energy.
• Make sure all the lights throughout your home are LED.

If you find yourself struggling to pay the electricity, gas or heating bills contact the Warm and Well service managed by Severn Wye Energy Agency on behalf of the seven local authorities in South Gloucestershire and Gloucestershire.

Warm and Well offers energy efficiency advice to householders and also administers grant funding to eligible households.

Home – Warm and Well – 0800 500 3076

• Energy 101 – 2022 edition (pdf, 162 KB)

Renewable technology

Installing renewable energy generation, such as solar panels, in your home will cut your energy bills and your carbon footprint. You can find out more information on renewable technology from the Energy Saving Trust.

Waste

Here are some of our top tips:

Food waste – For great ideas on using up leftovers and more, visit the Love Food Hate Waste website  – Love Food Hate Waste

Some food waste, such as vegetable peelings can be composted at home. Creating your own compost reduces the amount of food sent for recycling and puts nutrients back into your soil. Find out how you can buy subsidised compost bins here Get Composting Composters & Water Butts

Need composting advice, a county-wide team of volunteer Master Composters can help Master composters – Gloucestershire Recycles

Textiles – Don’t want to throw it away but don’t know much about repair? Check out Love Your Clothes

You can also take textiles (and much more) to one of the three Repair Cafes within the Borough. Repair Cafes – Gloucestershire Recycles

Real Nappies – Residents can get discounted ‘real’ (reusable) nappies or a £30 voucher towards the cost https://www.gloucestershirerecycles.com/reduce/composting/master-composters/

Other ways to reduce waste – The Gloucestershire Recycles website is packed full of inspiration Reduce your waste – Gloucestershire Recycles

Recycling – Find out what you can recycle at home – Waste and recycling — Tewkesbury Borough Council

Travel

• Walk, cycle or use public transport for short journeys
• Join Carshare Gloucestershire to share the cost of a commute – Carshare Gloucestershire community – part of the Liftshare network

Electric Vehicles can help cut your carbon footprint and can save money if the cost of electricity for charging is lower than the cost of petrol or diesel.

• The Government offers a grant towards the price of new electric vehicles. Read more about the low emission vehicles eligible for a grant on the Government’s website.
• Some grants are available to help with the cost of installing a charger at your home as part of the Government’s Electric Vehicle Chargepoint grant.

Biodiversity

• Gloucestershire County Council website has advice and support for biodiversity such as tree planting and tree preservation which provides natural carbon storage.
• Trees for Gloucestershire – Gloucestershire County Council

To keep up to date with local climate change news, Greener Gloucestershire provide a monthly newsletter email glosclimate@gloucestershire.gov.uk