People living in the UK throw away well over 28 million tonnes per year of rubbish from their homes, the same as three and a half million double decker buses. Unfortunately, only 17% of this waste is recycled while almost all of the rest is tipped into landfill sites – large holes dug into the ground to store it. The rubbish stays in the ground for a long time because it does not decompose easily, and it releases poisonous materials and can be a hazard to humans and wildlife. THe space left for landfill is running out- would you like a big rubbish tip next to where you live?

So, we want to encourage you to recycle and reuse as much as you can. At school, buy recycled or sustainable products such as BE books. Use scrap paper to sketch on. And of course make sure cans, bottles and paper are sorted and recycled after use to stop them all being thrown away.

Wildlife Watch is a great website for kids and grown ups to learn about being more eco-friendly- of course, recycling and reusing, by playing games and checking out some great facts. Have a look!

On 8:30pm, Satuday 27th March, the WWF are encouraging everyone to switch their lights off for 1 hour to help recognise the increasing problem of climate change.  It is widely recognised that climate change is causing the ice caps to melt and seas to warm, threatening ecosystems and coastal areas worldwide. This is also having knock-on effects in other places as rising temperatures are causing increased droughts , threatiening the most vulnerable animals and people worldwide.

For just 1 hour , 8:30pm, Saturday 27th march, many landmarks and cities throughout the world are showing their support for Earth Hour and recognising the danger of climate change by switching the lights off during this time. Show yours too – sign up for earth hour or find out more information today.

Of course we would like your garden waste to be composted as much as possible, but if you are one of many who are lighting a bonfire on fireworks night we recommend you follow these simple steps so stay safe and minimise your impact on the environment.

• If you are lighting a bonfire, firstly check to see that no animals have made a home inside the pile of bonfire materials such as hedgehogs.
• Try to use as much dry wood and paper and as little wet leaves and green plants as possible. Wet materials cause the fire to burn less efficiently and produce smoke. Heavy smoke produced by damp bonfires will pollute the air and can be a hazard to health and the environment. Always be careful the fire does not go out of control.
• Never burn materials such as plastic, paint, rubber, aerosols or other similar household rubbish. Toxic fumes can be released posing a serious health hazard and can also poison the ground afterwards.
• The following days, plough the resulting bonfire ash into the ground to help increase the quality of your garden soil.
• Don’t leave a fire unattended and never site it close to hedges, sheds, trees or buildings.

Remember, always follow the fireworks code, and stay safe. Pets and animals can become very scared by loud bangs. Give any of your pets a place to hide indoors to minimise noise and don’t use loud fireworks.

We have more of your great eco-tips: This time, gardening! Please click the link below to see our favourites.  Thank you for all your entries! This finishes our eco tips competition, we would like to say a big thank you to all who entered and we loved reading all your tips. We hope you will follow some of the tips you posted!

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Quoits. It’s a fun game for all the family. Grab your sandals, get into the garden and enjoy the tickle of grass on your toes. You can play quoits in your office, on the beach, on top of an extremely obese elephant, at school and even at the park — but make sure the hobos don’t steel your quoits set for firewood.

Enter the competition

We’re giving away three eco-friendly quoits sets to whoever sends in the most interesting ‘eco-tips’ — providing they live in the UK. So head over to Pea Green Things now and send in your best tip. That’s right, you too could be just like this idealic family, pictured. You’ve got until the 12th of July so best hurry up.

We’ll email winners and announce the winning eco-tips right here on Go Green. We’re after interesting tips and things that make us laugh. Bear in mind I’m on the panel of judges so best make the tips good.