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Book Review: No Waste Like Home, Penney Poyzer

No Waste Like Home is a tie-in to the BBC2 series of the same name fronted by self-proclaimed eco-dominatrix, Penney Poyzer. The book is very attractive, with plenty of slogans across arty small-depth-of-field photos (although some sections suffer from having light coloured text on a white background).

It covers domestic energy, waste and toxics, the effects of consumerism and driving, hitting the right nails on the head most of the time. Aviation, however, is excluded - a major flaw. The book claims it can save £4000 on the household bills of the most wasteful readers, but doesn’t mention that if they invest that in flying off for city breaks abroad then their carbon footprint will blot out their carbon savings instantly (our old friend the Rebound effect again).

The information is extremely clearly put across, but there are a number of inconsistencies: donating magazines to a dentist’s waiting room is ‘reducing’, but donating computers to schools is ‘reusing’. Some of the entries in the ‘what you have saved… so treat yourself’ sections at the end of each chapter are rather whimsical.

Overall, while it is great to see eco-living hitting the TV screens, Poyzer’s book is slightly disappointing. A tiny bit more rigour (and a little less smugness) would have delivered an excellent resource for beginners.