Q Is it OK to put old photographs in the paper recycling?

A No. Much like wrapping paper and the Yellow Pages, photographs cause problems at paper mills. In this case it is the chemicals used in the paper and the thin layer of polythene that coats a photo to stop it going wrinkly when it dries. These are classified as contaminants and clog up the recycling process.

My council suggested that I chuck them in my normal bin. But from my Google searches, which led me to frugal forums such as moneysavingexpert.com and recyclethis.co.uk , I have learnt that many people are opposed to chucking photographs in principle. They believe that there may come a time when a grandchild will be enthralled to flick through photos of any quality, even those of the back of people’s heads. I’m not so sure. I say cut them out and have a grand collage-making session; especially good if you have children – limbs and faces can be joined up to hilarious effect. Or you could try the old trick of turning them into a notebook to keep by the phone. This will depend on whether the reverse of the photo can be written on (some you may find to be too shiny for a ballpoint pen). Simply turn the photos over and staple the left-hand corner a couple of times.

With the digital age in full swing, piles of photos gathering dust will soon be a thing of the past. As we trade our traditional film-based cameras for skinny digital models, there will be less photographic waste. Films and the little capsules they came in will no longer lurk around the house. Instead we will be busy editing our photos on our laptops, maybe even airbrushing the odd blemish while we’re at it.

Q Is it better to use tissues or real handkerchiefs?

A Hankies all the way. Kinder on the nose, they also save trees and reduce landfill. A tissue is a one-use-only product. Needless to say, if you don’t use the recycled variety, you are using virgin fibre fresh from the forest, which requires a significant amount of energy to transform into a silky-smooth tissue.

Under Health and Safety regulations you can’t recycle tissues as they are considered contaminated. Composting them is the best disposal method, but I know that when I have a stinking cold the amount of tissue I get through would overwhelm my wormery.

According to the European Tissue Symposium, an average European will use 13kg of tissue (including toilet tissue) a year, which is the average weight of a two-and-a-half-year-old boy.

This only highlights the merits of a lovely organic cotton hanky (try organically.co.uk ; boxes of eight from £12.99). Some people may be a little squeamish about carrying a bundle of germs in their pocket all day long, but they will quite happily ferry filthy tissues around, which is essentially the same thing.

Then there’s the matter of washing your hanky. Depending on how, erm, congested, you are, you may prefer to soak your dirty hanky before putting it in the wash. I bother to do this only when my sinuses are really playing up; the rest of the time I have no qualms about dropping a hanky in the washing machine with the rest of my clothes.

My mother has an ancient saucepan she reserves for boiling hankies, although, worryingly, I’m sure that I’ve seen her using it for boiling eggs. But there’s no time for hygiene obsessives when it comes to being green.

I’m lucky enough to have inherited some of Grandpa’s trademark red spotted hankies. He would never have been seen mopping his nose with a paper tissue. Regardless of the waste implications, it was a question of style.

ECO-BLOGWATCH

On the blog last week, I gave my top ten tips on how to give your wormery an annual MoT.

From giving the bin a clean to throwing on some antiacid lime treatment to stop the contents becoming too acidic (buy it at wigglywigglers.co.uk), it doesn’t take long and it will prolong the life of your bin.

My suggestions sparked several of your own. Sara said that she moves her bin around, depending on the season: “In the winter, I keep it in the conservatory. Come summer, I find a shady spot under a tree.”

Always one step ahead of the game, Hedgewizard built his own wormery from recycled materials. A project that Storm, another reader, said he was about to undertake, too. He has already written an internet guide, find it at wikihow.com/Make-Your-Own-Worm-Compost-System .

Greenie points

DO IT

According to the British Trust for Ornithology, we should put up more nest boxes for birds. Its latest campaign draws attention to the fact that natural nest sites, such as holes in trees and buildings, are fast disappearing as gardens are paved over and buildings renovated. Human intervention can compensate for this loss. To learn how to choose a good bird box and how to care for it, go to bto.org/nnbw

CLICK IT

From the author of Beyond Baked Beans, the ultimate student cookbook, comes a frugal food blog, with advice on subjects as varied as stock making, sell-by dates and leftover salads. The Frugal Cook (thefrugalcook.blogspot.com ) is the latest project of the food writer Fiona Beckett, whose musings on food waste and affordable eating will be made into a book this autumn.

SKIP IT

Forget the eco-friendly charms of a banana or orange, neatly contained in its own packaging... there is now fruit, ready-peeled, washed and swathed in plastic. One example is the newly launched Snackerries (snackerries.com ), the packets of “washed and ready-to-eat fresh blueberries”. The British season isn’t until July, so at this time of year the berries are imported from Chile.

ANGEL

Cadbury chocolate “eco-egg”, which comes foil-wrapped and cardboard-free

DEVIL

Thorntons Its Continental egg range includes two different kinds of plastic, cardboard and ribbon

To read Anna’s eco-blog and to post comments, visit timesonline.co.uk/environment

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