Compost Awareness Week - 4th to 10th May 2008

WRAP and The Composting Association will be encouraging everyone to 'Green up their Environment' this Compost Awareness Week, Sunday 4th May to Saturday 10th May.

The week aims to encourage more individuals, businesses and organisations to get involved with composting.

From garden waste and shredded paper to food waste and cardboard, you may be surprised at just how much of your household waste could be going onto your compost heap rather than being sent to landfill.

A few composting facts to highlight the point:

• Around 30% of a typical home's waste is suitable for composting


• Over 27 million tonnes of green waste goes to landfill every year which could be composted instead.


• It's estimated that only one in every three homes in the UK currently do any composting.

If you're new to composting and want to get started with a heap of your own, check out our beginner's guide to composting. You can also find more composting tips and hints via The Composting Association.

For a large range of composting bins and accessories to help you on your way, click here.

WIN! A fabulous solar-charged Sun Jar!

Win one of the must-have eco-gifts of the moment -the beautiful Sun Jar!

CLICK HERE FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN!

Voted "Eco-Friendly Gift Of The Year 2007" by the Gift Association, the Sun Jar is a great combination of traditional rustic decor and high tech energy efficient lighting!

Captured inside the jar are a highly efficient solar cell, rechargeable battery and low energy LED lamps. When the jar is placed in sunlight the solar cell creates an electrical current that charges the battery over a few hours. This energy is then used at night to power the three LED lamps inside the jar.

The light is diffused by the frosted jar and give the appearance of sunlight being emitted. warm coloured LED lights are used to give a more natural and warm light.

Mason Jars are not only beautiful but by their very nature they are completely water tight - so the Sun Jar can happily be left outside in any weather conditions. Use it as a relaxing lamp, a perfect garden light, a night light for a kid's bedroom or even as a camping light.

The competition is open until 27th May and is free to enter to anyone who registers with the Big Green Switch website. Other terms & conditions apply.

So click here now for your chance to win this beautiful Sun Jar!

Have a nice Earth Day!

Today, Tuesday 22nd April, is Earth Day.

Earth Day is the internationally-celebrated day of the environment - a time to encourage everyone to stop and take stock of their lifestyles and what impact they have on the environment.The annual event has run since 1970 and this year as many as 500 million people in more than 180 countries are expected to be taking part, staging events or getting involved in local or national environmental projects.

You can do your bit too simply by taking time during the day to look at your lifestyle and think about how it could be more eco-friendly. Visit the Big Green Switch for tips and ideas on how you can save energy, reduce your waste and do many other simple, everyday things to make a difference and live a smarter, greener lifestyle.

To find out more about Earth Day and what events may be happening near you, visit the official website - ww2.earthday.net

WIN! An energy-saving Eco Kettle!

Cut your energy bills and your carbon footprint one cuppa at a time with the fantastic Eco Kettle!

CLICK HERE FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN!

The Eco Kettle is designed to give you a perfect energy-efficient cuppa every time!

Boiling more water than you need is a waste of energy and it's estimated that most of us regularly tend to boil at least twice the amount of water we need for our brews. The Eco Kettle puts a stop to this by helping you to only ever boil just the right amount of water you need.

Its internal reservoir holds a full capacity of water ready for use, while the measuring button allows any quantity - from a single cupful to full capacity - to be released into the separate chamber for boiling. The result? Exactly the right amount of water every time you boil!

The Eco Kettle is one of the best selling eco gadgets in the UK and trials directed by the Energy Saving Trust have shown that the Eco Kettle used over 30% less energy than standard kettles.

The competition is open until 19th May and is free to enter to anyone who registers with the Big Green Switch website. Other terms & conditions apply.

So click here now for your chance to win this fantastic Eco Kettle!

Slow down for Downshifting Week!

National Downshifting Week (or InterNational Downshifting Week as it's been promoted to this year!) kicks off this Friday, 19th, and everyone is encouraged to slow down and take part.

Downshifting is about slowing down your pace, finding a better work/life balance, consequently embracing living with less and leading a simpler, greener and happier life. Downshifting Week looks to promote this fantastic outlook on life and encourage more people to take steps to live a simpler, easier-going lifestyle.

Now in its fourth year, Downshifting Week was the brainchild of writer and broadcaster, Tracey Smith.

On her website, Tracey says "If you are looking for a little help to slow down your pace and enjoy life more, this is the place for you!

"Our campaign remains packed full of really simple ideas that will help you 'slow down and green up' and it's almost time for her 4th outing. I cannot wait to get my teeth into it."

For more information about InterNational Downshifting Week, check out the campaign's website or read Tracey's own green family blog for more ideas and inspiration.

Win £100 worth of eco stuff you'll love from Nigel's Eco Store!

Win £100 worth of fab eco goodies that will help you save money, energy and reduce your carbon footprint!!

CLICK HERE FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN!

The Big Green Switch is delighted to team up with Nigel's Eco Store to give you the chance to win some fantastic eco friendly products for your home.

The prize pack includes:

Solio solar charger
This year's must have accessory allowing you to recharge your iPod, phone or mobile device using the sun's energy when on the go.

Ecobutton
The gadget that will tackle your habit of leaving your computer on

Wind up universal remote control
You'll never run out of batteries at the worst possible time again!

The competition is open until 12th May and is free to enter to anyone who registers with the Big Green Switch website. Other terms & conditions apply.

So click here now for your chance to win these great energy-saving goodies!

Real Nappy Week 2008 - 21-27 April

Real Nappy Week takes place 21-27 April 2008 and highlights how parents can make a real difference to the environment by choosing to use real nappies as an alternative to disposible ones.

In the UK we throw away around 3 billion disposable nappies a year, that’s 8 million a day that go to landfill site near you.

The annual campaign is co-ordinated by Women's Environmental Network (WEN) and the Real Nappy Campaign. Its aim is to to raise awareness of the benefits of modern washable nappies.

Click here for more details about the campaign or click here to find a campaign event near to you.

Click here for more tips and advice on reducing your household waste.

10 OWL wireless energy monitors to be won!

Don't miss your chance to win an OWL wireless electricity monitor from theowl.com!

CLICK HERE FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN!

Fight rising energy bills and climate change with the OWL wireless electricity monitor. The stylish handheld device provides up to the second information of the exact amount of electricity you are using in pounds and pence. This means you can see the exact financial gain of turning off electrical devices at home.

Whether it’s turning off at the plug rather than just using standby or simply turning off a light, the OWL shows you the exact cash impact of changing your behaviour, which can be up to £100 per year for the average home.

The OWL is easy to read, easy to use and easy to install (no additional wiring required) and costs just £34.99.

For more information and useful tips on how to save money using OWL, go to http://www.theowl.com/.

The Prize:
The Big Green Switch is giving you the chance to win one of 10 of these excellent easy-to-use OWL monitors to help you save energy and money in YOUR home.

So if you're worried about the environment or your electricity bills, an OWL could be just the thing you're looking for to help you manage your energy use around the home more efficiently and cost-effectively.

The competition is open until 6th May and is free to enter to anyone who registers with the Big Green Switch website. Other terms & conditions apply.

So click here now for your chance to win an OWL wireless electricity monitor!

Get daily green news and tips to your mobile

Get daily green news and tips from the Big Green Switch to your mobile phone via Twitter!

We've signed up with popular social-networking and micro-blogging website Twitter.com to be able to send regular green updates throughout the day.

As a Twitter user, you're able to subscribe to the Big Green Switch updates and choose to either view them online OR get them sent directly to your mobile phone as an SMS message.

SIGN UP NOW IN FOUR EASY STEPS!

1) Log in to your existing Twitter account or create a new account for free in less than a minute!

2) Once you're logged into Twitter, go to the "People" search box at the bottom of the right-hand menu panel and search for "biggreenswitch" (all one word). On the search results, click on the "Follow" button next to our listing. The box will go blue after you've clicked to indicate that you've successfully subscribed to our updates.

3) Click on "Home" to go back to your main Twitter homepage where you'll now see all our recent updates. Bookmark and visit the page regularly for all our latest news and tips.

4) To receive our updates direct to your mobile, click on the "Notifications" link in the right-hand panel of your Twitter page and follow the set-up instructions.

Please support the Big Green Switch in the New Media Awards 2008

The Big Green Switch is delighted to have been nominated in the "Inform and educate" category of this year's New Statesman New Media Awards.

We've been working hard to constantly improve and develop the site over the past 11 months and, with the help of you, our fantastic visitors, we're proud to have created what we feel is a clear, fair and positive online community and information portal where anyone keen to live a greener lifestyle can find all the advice and knowledge they need.

The NMA Awards nomination particularly acknowledges the Big Green Switch's efforts in trying to cut through the hype and confusion around green living and put all the relevant information before consumers and encourage them to form their own conclusions and join the debate through interactivity.

If you like the Big Green Switch site, we’d love you to leave a comment and give us a rating on our awards nomination page.