We live in a world where "environmentally friendly" are two words we all know and understand well.
We are constantly being told about the dangerous amounts of waste being sent to the landfills each year.
What many people don't realise is that there are over two hundred tonnes of waste being sent to the UK landfills every single year, of that a large percentage is recyclable waste.
While there are around forty three percent of all UK households currently taking the time to sort through their rubbish, carefully recycling various materials, that still leaves fifty seven percent that are throwing everything in a black sack and leaving it outside for the rubbish collection.
There are a number of ways a property can become eco-friendly, immediately reducing its carbon footprint and making a small difference to the environment.
If each home in the UK makes a small effort, that will make a significant impact on the environment for future generations.
Recycling has become a top priority throughout the world, reducing the amount of waste sent to landfills and reusing items as much as possible.
Recycling schemes are carried out throughout the country, plastic, cardboard and other recyclable materials are collected separately from the waste, reducing the impact we are placing on our landfills.
If you have a garden, you can take your eco-friendly living to another level.
While recycling takes care of paper, cardboard, glass and plastic, there is still your kitchen waste (food waste), which gets thrown onto the landfills.
What you may not realise is over time the rubbish dumped on the landfills heats up, this can be a serious risk the more we thrown onto them.
If you have a garden you can consider making your own compost.
Compost heaps can be kept out of the way at the bottom of the garden and is a place you can throw all your vegetable peelings, shredded paper and garden waste.
Again, you are dramatically reducing what you throw on the landfill by making your own compost.
At the same time your garden benefits tremendously, as compost is organic and doesn't have any fertilizers or insecticides in it, which you would find if you purchased a bag of compost from your local garden centre.
Composting does take a little bit of work, you will need to turn it every few weeks until it breaks down into a dark earth colour, you can normally tell when the compost is ready for use as it gets a very earthy smell.
Your final step to being completely environmentally friendly is the heating and electricity in your home.
For electricity many homes choose solar power, which uses the sun as a renewable energy source, but for heating you can choose an air source heat pump.
The air source heat pump is a welcome addition to an eco-friendly home.
These pumps sit outside the property and use the heat from the air as energy.
As long as the outside air is more than -18°C or 0°F, the air source heat pump will work.
There are two air source heat pumps available, the first is the air to water, which is used for wet central heating systems, the other is the air to air system, which is use for hot water heating.
The advantage to this form of heating is that you lower your carbon footprint, reduce your energy bills and in some cases, can even qualify for the government renewable heat premium grant.
This is only three things you can do to make your home environmentally friendly, recycling and composting are easy to do.
Choosing to install an air source heat pump is a long term investment, which will lower your energy costs, carbon footprint and ensure you are doing all you can to help the environment?