Q I have so many coat hangers not even my local charity shop will take them. What should I do?

A It’s funny you should ask. I stumbled on a way of reusing coat hangers just the other day. As I flicked through a review copy of the updated frugal-living manual, The Penny Pincher’s Book Revisited, by thrifty followers John and Irma Mustoe, and published by Souvenir Press, I came across the following advice: “Use old coat hangers as skewers for cooking on the barbecue.”

Good thinking, but I have my reservations. First, it’s a bit late in the year to try sliding cubes of lamb on to an item that previously supported your skirts. I’m also concerned that unwinding a metal hanger would create a long skewer that would be cumbersome to clean, unless you snipped it in half with pliers, thus making two skewers and providing an extra dose of frugality.

Finally, given that research by YouGov revealed last week that there are 530 million unwanted coat hangers stashed away in UK homes, and that almost 100 million of them go straight to landfill every year, you’d have to be extraordinarily devoted to your barbecue to make a dent in the surplus population.

Fortunately, there are other options. So long as you are quick off the mark, you could take them to one of the 11 Marks & Spencer stores that are holding a coat hanger amnesty until the end of today (to find your nearest, click marksandspencer. com/hangers ).

Its own-brand hangers will be reused in stores; hangers from other shops will be recycled and turned back into new coat hangers, with even the metal hooks being melted down and reused.

Should you miss the boat, what about taking wire hangers to the dry-cleaners, a business that is always in need of more? While you’re there you could do your second eco-deed of the day and ask whether the shop has considered swapping to a greener cleaning method, such as the one pioneered by GreenEarth. It uses a less polluting silicon-based solvent ( greenearth.co.uk ).

Q I know I shouldn’t pour hot fat down the drain, but what should I do with it?

A That moment when you hover over the sink with a tray of sizzling sausages, wondering about the pool of fat that needs to be disposed of, is never easy. The tempting option, to lose it down the sink, you are right to resist.

You would be doing this at your peril. Fat solidifies as it cools and it is more likely to block your pipes, something that water companies won’t take responsibility for, says Thames Water. “Customers’ own pipes that link their properties to the public sewers are the most likely to be affected by fat,” it says. “They are narrower and block more easily.”

Not that the problem is over if the fat makes it past your pipes into the sewers. It is here that it is liable to join up with other hardened chunks of fat, which attach themselves to the sides of the tunnels and cause serious blockages, unless dealt with by teams of “flushers”, the brave men who patrol the underground network. Hot fat going down drains, a problem exacerbated by our booming restaurant industry, is one of the biggest challenges that our water system faces.

But back to that moment with the sausages. What should you do? “Liquid cooking fat should be poured into an old tin or sturdy container and then put in the bin once it has cooled and solidified,” says Thames Water. I prefer to pour fat into leak-proof plastic packaging, such as meat trays, that are nonrecyclable, as it seems a waste of an aluminium tin or jam jar to use it as a receptacle for fat that you are going to send to landfill.

Given that you can make low-emission fuel by mixing cooking oil with diesel, I’m waiting for the day when we will be using it to fuel our cars. For now, though, companies that trade in used oil and make bio-diesel collect only from caterers with large quantities. Let’s hope that as we enter an era of dwindling oil resources, the need to provide alternatives and to use a common household waste product develops with greater urgency.

GREENIE POINTS

DO IT

Head to this year’s Grand Designs Live exhibition at the NEC in Birmingham (October 5-7) and you’ll find the central theme is sustainability. At its Green Garden, created by Christian Aid and the Eden Project, you can learn to use recycled materials in the garden, grow your own food and create a living wall (granddesigns live.com ).

CLICK IT

After all the fuss of London Fashion Week, here is a way of politely nagging your favourite high-street store to improve its ethical credentials. This website, thenag.net/ragnag , makes it as easy as a few clicks of the mouse to send an e-mail; it also provides a list of guilt-free clothes companies.

SKIP IT

Mini fridges might be nifty, especially when within reach of your armchair, but they are up to four times less efficient than normal fridges. Unlike most electrical appliances, they do not always carry energy-efficiency labels. Manufacturers claim they do not come within the EU scheme, but if they did, they would fall into the worst “G” category.

For Anna’s e-mail address and eco-blog, timesonline.co.uk/ecoworrier

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