Have an eco-friendly bank holiday barbeque

Nothing is more evocative of summer than the smell of sizzling barbeque food (even if you happen to be veggie). But how green is this form of outdoor cooking? The answer is it can be either decidedly ungreen, or not bad at all depending on which methods and fuel types you choose...

Lucy Sigel has given some good tips in this article on how to reduce the impact of your barbeque; the main point being that you should avoid the modern sort that pump out vast quantities of gas or electricity and ensure you use sustainable charcoal. A traditional, charcoal-burning model is the greener choice, and I love the fact that she mentions the best barbeque she ever had was cooked on a customised wheelbarrow.

You might not have a spare wheelbarrow handy, but you can easily buy a charcoal burning barbeque (which should be far cheaper than the more polluting sort) and make sure it's stoked up with sustainable, locally sourced charcoal. This weekend, Ethical Superstore have made this easy for you, and are offering free delivery from now until the end of the bank holiday on FSC certified charcoal that comes from English woodlands (just up the road from the store in Hexham, in fact). Click here to take advantage of this offer.

John Lewis has a good selection of charcoal barbeques, including the fun, 'bucket' style pictured above. With prices starting at £15 and going up to £99 for a luxury model, this really is the best value option.

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