Going Green: Shop seasonally and support local farmers this harvest time

From January 2022 to January 2024, food and drink prices in the UK rose by around 25 percent. In the decade before that, the increase was only around nine percent. We've all become better at finding cheaper alternatives to the food we would automatically put in our baskets.

The good news is, it’s UK harvest season right now and we have a bounty of incredible produce on our doorsteps that’s grown locally and is not only climate friendly but will be kinder on your wallet too.

You'll also be helping British farmers, anyone who has watched Clarkson's Farm will know the impact of climate change on our growers. Research has found this harvest is going to be a tough one for farmers across the UK with record breaking rains last winter partly to blame. The wheat yield has been reduced by a fifth but while we’ve had better years and better yields, the struggles UK farming has gone through is more of a reason than ever to support local British food.

Jamie Oliver’s new show “What to Eat This Week” is on Channel 4 and on catch up too. It celebrates what’s in season and how to make the most of what’s grown on our shores. Jamie has an incredible quick, easy and cheap cabbage and pasta recipe that he describes as "a corker of a dish with salty, smoky pancetta and oozy cheese, the perfect way to celebrate all parts of a Savoy cabbage." ’Cabbages are on every supermarket shelf at the moment and risotto or pasta dishes mean one will feed the whole family. Always look at the wonky veg section in your supermarket and take a wander in your local park or countryside too. Apples are in plentiful supply on trees across the country and hedgerows are heaving with ripe blackberries waiting for crumbles. There’s a foraging map available here https://fallingfruit.org/ to see exactly where you have trees, bushes, and plants you can pick from and it’s a great activity with the family. Local community groups often highlight where there’s a glut of food or vegetables from allotments or gardens.

Eating less meat also saves money. Anna Jones is a brilliant chef who highlights amazing seasonal and delicious vegetarian food that won’t cost the earth but still pass the taste test.

Other tips that it's worth repeating are to bulk buy when possible and opt for the value brands that are usually lower down the shelves. When you compare the price per kg, the savings are considerable and these products often have less plastic packaging so it’s a win win.

Finally, avoiding food waste. An average, a family of four will throw out £60 of food a week. Try to shop with a list and buy only what you need.

As an environmental scientists, there’s many reasons to support local producers but this harvest season, when farmers are struggling and supermarket prices are increasing, why not support British farming?

Celebrity spot

​Poet Pam Ayres has bought a 22 acre plot which she’s returned to the wild. The Battery Hen poet, 77, says it’s her pride and joy adding: “When I was a child, wildlife was everywhere. I never imagined that would change. I thought I'd always hear the cuckoo in spring and see clouds of swifts and swallows over the fields. I thought there would always be water voles in the brooks and frogspawn in the ditches, but it's all gone. It's so sad.”

Green swap

​Swap dairy milk for soy milk to reduce your environmental impact. Per 200ml glass, dairy milk emits 0.63kg of emissions, needs 1.79m squared and uses 125.6L of water. Soy milk emits 0.2kg needs .013 metres squared of land and just 5.6L of water.

Celebrating 21 years of eco-friendly recycling

Recycling Week celebrates turning 21 this year and there’s never been a better time to celebrate the reuse of things we might have once binned.

Starting on the October 14, the theme for 2024 is ‘Rescue Me’ which champions the reuse of things that might have ended up in the bin or landfill. The website which supports the week has plenty of information about the campaign and the previous themes including “missed capture” recycling things in the home we might not necessarily think are recyclable.

There’s an action pack for kids with plenty of resources for schools too but despite recycling being hugely important for the environment, there’s a lot of misinformation out there about what can and can’t be recycled.

Not all recycling goes abroad. The majority of recycling is processed right here in the UK and what does go overseas to be recycled is checked by the Environment Agency to make sure it’s going to a reputable recycler or processor.

Recycling saves energy. In fact, 95 per cent less energy is needed to make products from materials that have been recycled. Staggeringly too, recycling one fizzy drinks can which is made from aluminium saves enough energy to run a telly for four hours.

Rinsing recyclables is important and you don’t have to run a tap to do it, use a silicon scraper or used water from washing up or even pop them in the dishwasher if you have room. Sending them rinsed to recycling prevents other recyclables from contamination.

It does matter if you get your recycling mixed up when it comes to kerb side collection. The wrong materials in the wrong places, sometimes called “wishcycling”, can lead to contaminating recycled materials, which may end up in the bin or cost your council more to sort out.

You don’t need to understand the recycling number found on plastics to recycle them – the number is purely so manufacturers know what type of resin was used to make the plastic.

Recycling Week, sponsored by Boots and Tesco, gives us all a great opportunity to change behaviours and make a difference.

Why not start recycling something you haven’t before? Or take the stuff that’s been gathering dust to the refuse and recycling centre – it feels so good to have a clear out.

Aerosols can be recycled – from deodorants to furniture polish aerosols, they can all be recycled into other materials but need to go in specialist bins as do small electronics or batteries.

There’s often areas at the ‘tip’ where you can pick up a bargain from something someone else has decided to get rid of as an incentive to recycle.

If you have unrecyclable materials gathering dust too, offer it on freecycle or other websites or get the kids involved in making some art out of whatever it is. There are plenty of ideas and junk artist inspiration on social media.

Fact or fiction

25,000 hectares

The National Trust has created, planted and restored 25,000 hectares of wildlife habitats across the UK.

Fact – The area given back to nature and the environment is the equivalent of twice the size of Manchester.