How do I know that my cosmetics don't contain palm oil?

You're right to be suspicious. Palm oil is an edible oil from the fruit of a palm tree called the oil palm. According to Friends of the Earth, it features in 10 per cent of supermarket products in the UK, but it is difficult to detect as many companies use the generic term “vegetable oil” to describe it in biscuits, sauces and chocolate, as well as soaps, shampoos and detergents.

Sometimes, companies don't list the ingredients, claiming that there is no room on the packaging or that listing the secret recipe might encourage counterfeit versions.

Let's remind ourselves what's not to like about palm oil: the trashing of rainforests to make way for palm oil plantations is having a devastating impact on the orang-utan habitat in Indonesia. Last year's UN environment programme report, The Last Stand of the Orang-utan, says the rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra are being cleared so rapidly that by the early 2020s the apes may be extinct.

The wider problem is deforestation. As a result of the destruction and burning of Indonesia's peatlands, 1.8 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions are released, according to Greenpeace. This means that 4 per cent of global emissions are coming from 0.1 per cent of the land on Earth.

The good news is that not all palm oil is bad. Body Shop was the first cosmetics company to convert to using sustainable palm oil from a plantation in Colombia. Following its lead, Lush, the soap maker, has introduced Greenwash, its first palm oil-free soap. It is working on a mixture of coconut, rapeseed and sunflower oils to replace palm oil in other soaps.

Greenpeace points out that it isn't calling for companies to pull out of the palm oil trade altogether, rather for them to take responsibility for how their ingredients are sourced.

I have hundreds of video cassettes. What should I do with them?

Not so many years ago an extensive video collection was something to be proud of, not a dirty secret, hidden behind the sofa and dismissed as clunky relics of a bygone age. The fact is, we've moved on. Even DVDs are threatened by the onset of internet downloads. But before we start worrying about our DVD mountains, let's deal with videos.

They're tricky customers, I'm afraid. Neither council collection schemes nor local recycling centres are interested in them, which leaves you with the option either of being creative with them at home or sending them to a commercial company such as Keymood (www.keymood.co.uk ) where they will be ground down to a plastic mulch that can be reused.

Sending off a couple of hundred is going to cost you in postage, however, so envy those that live or work in Central London where another recycling organisation, The Laundry, runs a collection service (www.thelaundry.biz ).

For homespun inspiration, take a look at this blog, myrecycledbags.com. Its author crochets VCR tape into stylish handbags. While this is undoubtedly beyond my skills, if you want to give it a go, the author, who goes by the name of RecycleCindy, offers a tutorial on how to turn video tape into crochet yarn on www.myrecycledbags.com/2007/ 06/03/how-to-use-vcr-vhs-tape-as-yarn .

If none of this convinces you and you're eyeing up the bin, what about posting up a message on Freecycle first (you'll have to join at www.freecycle.org)? On my local forum, I often spot posts with bizarre requests for materials for art projects in schools.

GREENIE POINTS

DO IT Hanging on to foreign banknotes and coins? A more ethical approach is to donate them to your nearest Oxfam shop. Find yours at www.oxfam.org.uk

CLICK IT The British Trust for Conservation Volunteers is launching its Spring Into Action campaign for the second year running (www.btcv.org/springintoaction). Events will include creating community gardens.

SKIP IT According to Friends of the Earth, our chocolate habits created 4,370 tonnes of cardboard last Easter. This year they will cost us £520 million, most of which goes on packaging. Why not fill an old egg box with loose, foil-wrapped ones?

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