What Can I Do?

Trafford Council's Green Living scheme

If you own your own home, you can take advantage of Trafford Council's Green Living scheme. From just £250 you can insulate your loft or wall cavity, and also receive a one-off £70 council tax rebate.

Under the scheme you can also fit a solar hot water system or solar photovoltaics for electricity to your roof very affordably, and receive a £400 council tax discount (for solar hot water) or a £500 discount (for solar photovoltaics).

To find out more about the scheme, and arrange for a no-obligation survey from our approved installer Hillserve, please telephone 0845 971 7731 and quote the code TRAF.

The scheme is run in partnership with British Gas.

We need to take action to protect our heritage, we need to tackle pollution and manage waste in a more sustainable way, encourage healthier lifestyles, and use energy more efficiently.

We can all make a difference, at home and at work:-

Reduce your need for packaging on purchases.

Re-use where it is practicable to do so.

Recycle whenever you can, and

Make full use of Trafford’s doorstep recycling service for paper, glass, tin cans and garden waste.

Wherever we live, there are many things we can do to lessen our dependence on fossil fuels:

Compost your own garden and kitchen waste.

Re-use supermarket carrier bags when shopping. That way you will cut down on the 323 carrier bags brought into the home each year.

Don’t leave the tap running when washing or cleaning your teeth.

Shower rather than bath, you'll save up to 40 litres of water.

Turn down your central heating system by just one degree.

Fit draught-proofing to your windows and doors, and insulate your home to save money. The average household spends over £600 a year on fuel and power, and loses up to 40% of its heat through loft spaces and walls.

Treat your hot water tank to a new insulating jacket, could save you up to £15 a year.

Look for energy efficient labels on new electrical appliances – replacing a 10 year old fridge freezer with an 'A' rated model could save up to £35 a year on bills.

Boil only as much water in the kettle that you need.

Switch off lights when leaving a room. Use energy saving light bulbs, they only use a quarter of the electricity of a normal lightbulb and can last up to 12 times longer, saving you up to £7 per year on your electricity bill.

Stay healthy and walk or cycle rather than use the car whenever you can make use of public transport, and don’t use your car for short journeys. The school run causes over 20% of the peak morning urban congestion.

Make sure your car is properly serviced and tuned. Under inflated tyres can increase your fuel consumption by up to 8%

See what a difference you could make?
It's easy for all of us to think we can’t do anything about global warming. We're too busy and we haven't got the time or money to 'go green'.

In reality, there are a number of things we could all do that would have a positive impact on the environment, that won't cost us more money or interrupt our lifestyles.