Enviro Coop's top ten tips to safeguard the environment and save energy at home:

1. Conventional cooker ovens use up most of their energy heating themselves - only about 6% of the heat is used to actually cook food! When possible, use a microwave instead. You can save even more energy if you let frozen food defrost in your refrigerator before microwaving.

2. An incandescent light bulb changes only about 2% of the power it uses into visible light, the rest (98%) is lost as heat. Energy efficient light bulbs work in the same way as fluorescent lights. An electric current is passed through gas in a tube, making the tube's coating glow brightly. Not only do they cost less to light, but also last up to 12 times longer than ordinary incandescent light bulbs, so you don't have to change them as often!

3. Televisions, videos, stereos, computers, cordless phones: To cut down on wasted energy, avoid leaving appliances on standby and remember not to leave them on charge unnecessarily.

4. Don't leave the fridge door open for longer than necessary, as cold air will escape. Try to avoid putting hot or warm food straight into the fridge; allow it to cool down first. Defrost your fridge regularly to keep it running efficiently and cheaply.

5. In just one day, a dripping hot water tap can waste energy and enough water to fill a bath. Make sure they're all turned off!

6. Ceilings fans aren't just for summer cooling - since warm air rises, and cooler air sinks, you can run your ceiling fan in the winter to force the rising warm air back down to where you want it, thus causing your heater to work less.

7. Double glazing: Your home could be losing up to 20% of its heat through single glazed and poorly insulated window frames. With double glazing you can actually cut these losses by over a half!

8. Use only full cut-off lighting to illuminate external areas. Full cut-off light fixtures throw no light above the horizon, where it ends up wasted, creating blinding glare, skyglow and energy waste.

9. Waste separation at home is the way to go if we are to have a sustainable waste management strategy in Malta. However, organic waste that is separated out encourages the growth of bacteria, which aid in decomposing the same waste. Thus, store your organic waste outside and keep it isolated from contact with children.

10. To minimise the amount of solid waste that we have produce, watch what you buy at the grocery store! Choose items that are packed in re-usable or recyclable material (such as glass or metal), or buy in bulk, reducing the amount of packaging required.