Here's three steps for October

It’s October. The weather’s on the turn, with dark nights and cold days more frequent as we head towards winter. This month we’re focusing on how you can keep warm and reduce your impact on the environment. Oh, and buses.

Grants to make your home more energy efficient

With colder days, many of you will be starting to turn your heating on. A considerable portion of your annual gas and electricity consumption will be during the winter months.

If your home is chilly and you’re on one of a range of benefits, you may be entitled to free insulation to make your home more energy efficient.

Create a sustainable winter wardrobe

The fashion industry is responsible for 10% of annual global carbon emissions and is the second-largest consumer of the world’s water supply. 

Extending the life of clothes by just nine months of active use would reduce carbon, water and waste footprints by 20-30% for each garment.

You can make a difference by changing how you buy your clothes and what you do with them when you’re finished with them (or your kids have grown out of them).

If you can, buy your clothes second-hand. It’s often cheaper than buying new and if you’re buying from a charity shop, they’ll benefit too. You could also try a second-hand sale or swap. Back on the Rack – organised by Young ACAN – will take place on Friday 24 November.

When you’re finished with your clothes, you could sell them on a peer-to-peer site like Vinted, Ebay or Shpock, donate them to a charity shop and (if you don’t have time or they’re things like pants) put them in a textile bank.

Get the bus

We appreciate it’s sometimes easier said than done in the district, but 20 people taking a bus to the same place is much better for the environment than you driving there on your own in a petrol or diesel car.

The government’s £2 bus fare cap has been extended to 31 December 2024, which means that on certain routes, the most you’ll pay for a single ticket is £2.