at home with Sarah Beeny - August 2012 - (Page 212)

YOUR GREEN HOME Don’t IF YOU’RE THINKING OF DISPOSING OF YOUR TATTY OLD SOFA OR CHUCKING OUT A MOBILE PHONE, THINK AGAIN. THERE’S MUCH MORE TO RECYCLING THAN JUST THE BOTTLE BANK BIN IT Home furnishings When it comes to getting rid of an old chair, or that trusty sofa, there’s no need to take it straight to the dump – home furnishings can easily be recycled. The London Re-use Network (www.londonreuse.com), for example, accepts furniture – as well as other household items – as long as they are in good condition or can be repaired with ease. CDs, DVDs and games Sarah says... ‘Although we’ve come a long way with recycling in the past few years, as a country, we are still not as savvy as our European neighbours. Some recycle more than 50% of their waste. It’s so simple.’ ______ _ What with it being the digital age, if you’ve got CDs that are taking up valuable room in your home and are now safe on your hard drive somewhere, then it may be worthwhile recycling them. Visit www.musicmagpie.co.uk and simply type in the barcode of the CD, DVD or game (or scan it using your webcam!) to ﬁnd out how much the company will pay you in return for you recycling your items. ____ __ _ ___ _ _ _ Food waste ON THE UP OVER 40% OF HOUSEHOLD WASTE WAS RECYCLED IN ENGLAND IN 2010/11. IN 2000/01, IT WAS 11% 'DON’T FORGET TO CLEAR YOUR PC OF PERSONAL DATA BEFORE RECYCLING' __ ___ __ Electrical goods Recycling your old PC needn’t be diﬃcult. There are plenty of organisations that can help you ﬁnd recycling schemes for old electrical goods such as computers: try www.freecycle.org or 212 | AUGUST 2012 Mobile phones If you’ve recently upgraded your phone or have a couple of discarded handsets in a drawer at home – get recycling! There are plenty of Recycling print cartridges is a great way to do your bit for the planet and save some cash, too. In the UK alone, an astounding 30 million ink cartridges are thrown away each year. With printer cartridges – especially colour ink – proving an expensive purchase, why not consider recycling them? Many organisations will give you either vouchers or reward points in exchange for your empty cartridges – or, if you’re feeling particularly altruistic, you can donate the payment to charity. ■ WORDS: Jessie Bland | PHOTOGRAPH: Getty Images Although this may not apply to everybody, some councils do oﬀer the opportunity for you to recycle your food waste. With the help of a handy caddy, all food waste – both raw and cooked – can be recycled, which not only beneﬁts the environment, but it stops your bins smelling awful! If this scheme hasn’t reached you, worry not. Home composting is another way to recycle food, although with this you must stick to fruit and vegetable peelings, tea bags and egg shells – meat, ﬁsh and dairy aren’t suitable. websites out there that will oﬀer you cash – or high-street store vouchers – in return for your unwanted mobile phone. Log onto www.comparemobilephonerecycling.co.uk to ﬁnd out where you will be able to get the most for your mobile. get in touch with your local council to see whether they run a similar service. What’s especially important to remember when recycling your computer is that it’s full of personal data, so it’s worth getting a computer specialist to ‘zero’ your hard drive, or downloading special software that does the job for you. Killdisk.com oﬀers a free download. Printer cartridges http://www.londonreuse.com http://www.musicmagpie.co.uk http://www.comparemobilephonerecycling.co.uk http://www.Killdisk.com http://www.freecycle.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of at home with Sarah Beeny - August 2012

EDITOR’S LETTER
WELCOME FROM SARAH
NEWS
AWESOME AUGUST
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
TABLE TALK
THE THRIFTY FIFTY
TRENDS ON TRIAL
BEENY UNCUT
ESSENTIAL HOME-BUYING GUIDE
SURVEY SAVVY
WHAT’S THE SCORE?
THE NEW FACE OF PROPERTY?
SELLER SECRETS
LOCATION LOCK-UP
SOAP AND GLORY
OPEN UP
RECIPE FOR SUCCESS
TOP SHOP
THE BRIGHT STUFF
GET THE JUNGLE LOOK
WARDROBE WARS
A ONE OFF
MOSAIC MAGIC
GLASS ACT
TAKE TO THE FLOOR
FRAME GAME
IT’S A BLINDER
SNUG AS A BUG
BURNING QUESTION
THE A-TEAM
QUICK FIX
BEAT THE BUILDING BLUES
LET THERE BE LIGHT
GOING DOWN
GARDEN GREATS
DIRTY DEALINGS
ALIEN INVASION
JUMP RIGHT IN
LITTLE WONDER
OUT OF SIGHT
PROFESSOR GREEN
ECO EXCLUSIVE
TALKING TRASH
PRO PLANET PROJECTS
HELLO, SUNSHINE
CARBON-NEUTRAL COVER
STAR GLAZER
EARTH HOUR
HOT TOPIC
MASS REDUCTION
WASTE NOT
SWITCHED ON
ETHICAL INTERIORS
YOU LIVE WHERE?
COMING SOON
WINNING SPOT
LUXE LINEN
CATCH-UP
STOCKISTS

at home with Sarah Beeny - August 2012