Most of us prefer to do things if we can get something out of it personally.

That’s not to say we’re selfish, just that it is nice to get a reward or some direct benefit from carrying out an activity.

So all this environmental, recycling stuff often seems distant, because some people don’t see the tangible positives that come from putting a can in a black box.

However, us Barnet residents could see the benefit in the form of a small financial saving, something in the region of £11 million!

The Energy Saving Trust has calculated the amounts of money and CO2 that the 136,791 households in the borough could save by taking some simple measures.

For instance, if all households committed to turn their thermostat down by 1°C it would save about 44,433 tonnes of CO2 per year, which would apparently fill 252,600 double-decker buses.

The financial savings for that alone would be over £5,320,000, which is enough to pay the yearly fuel bill for over 5,850 households, and better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick as they say.

If residents turned appliances off standby when not in use, it would cut about 15,365 tonnes of CO2 per year and save around £3,900,000, which is enough to pay the yearly fuel bill for more than 4,290 households.

More than £1,118,100 could be saved if we wash laundry at 30°C instead of higher temperatures, and that would cut down on 5,890 tonnes of CO2.

And nearly £1 million could be saved if residents replace three light bulbs with Energy Saving recommended ones.

To me, they seem like small, simple measures that will eventually result in us having more money burning a hole in our pockets, and reduce the amount of CO2 that is burning a hole in the o-zone layer.