A: Well, it’s tough but there’s only one way to find out. Glug back a bottle or two, let it swirl around your digestive system and see how you feel. The next day, take a wallet and a head check. Organic converts swear that while the eco-choice may weigh slightly more heavily on your pocket, it makes light of your hangover — they say the use of organic hops and fewer artificial ingredients is responsible. However, there is not yet substantial evidence to back this up. We know that organic wines, which use lower levels of the hangover- inducing ingredient sulphur dioxide, are easier on the head but for organic beer the jury is still out. That said, you’re not only supporting organic farming but also independent British breweries. The Campaign for Real Ale endorses many producers of local beers but last year at the Worcester Beer Festival, it named St Peter’s Organic Best Bitter its champion beer (www.stpetersbrewery.co.uk).

A cynic might say that organic beer is just another lifestyle badge to mark the eco-consumer from the Stella-swiller. But before you scoff, try Fuller’s Organic Honey Dew Beer (Sainsbury’s; £1.78 a bottle). This is a predictable choice for someone, like me, with little history of beer drinking and no beard to speak of, but it’s golden colour is too much to resist, along with its impeccable eco-credentials.

Q: My recycling bank won’t accept Yellow Pages. What can I do with them?

A: This bulky catalogue has a reputation as a tricky customer in recycling circles. Rumours are circulating about an intensive dye — and this is given as a convenient explanation for why some local councils bar it from green boxes.

But Yell, the owner of the Yellow Pages, is at pains to point out that times as well as phone numbers have changed. About 94 per cent of local authorities now recycle it. Either you’re in an unlucky minority or the sign on your bin needs updating.

It’s worth calling the Yellow Pages Directory Recycling Scheme (0800 671 444) to check.

Unwilling to abandon their trademark colour, Yell has swapped to using a wash for its pages that is deemed acceptable by many paper mills. Roughly 30 per cent of those collected by local authorities end up at paper mills; the rest can expect a future as animal bedding, cardboard or some such packaging material.

If you have children, you can shift the recycling duty on to them. The

Yellow Woods Challenge (www.yellow-woods.co.uk), a partnership between Yell, local authorities and the Woodlands Trust, encourages pupils to bring in Yellow Pages for recycling. Cash prizes are available for the schools that collect the most — this year, £75,000 is up for grabs. For every pound awarded, Yell gives the same amount to the Woodlands Trust to support its tree-planting campaign.

So load up those satchels and delegate downwards — what else is a family hierarchy for?

Do you have a green dilemma? E-mail it to ecoworrier@thetimes.co.uk

Eco-worrier weblog

Agonising over an aspect of ethical living? Got a green tip to share? This week, we launch the Times Online Eco-worrier weblog for anyone who is keen to green up their life. Anna Shepard will be hosting the site and responding to your queries. Get in touch at www.timesonline.co.uk/ecoworrier