91Èȱ¬

	What happened next? It's all very well being super energy efficient when Penney Poyzer visits your home, but what happens after the show? We catch up with the people who appeared on the show to see if they've returned to their wasteful ways...

In this article

Episode 8 - 6 October Episode 7 - 29 September Episode 6 - 22 September

Episode 5 - 15 September Episode 4 - 8 September Episode 3 - 1 September

Episode 2 - 25 August Episode 1 - 18 August

The energy-guzzling Lamberts from Milton Keynes had a visit from Penney to reduce their excessive electricity bills, which were three times the national average.

Post Penney's visit, the family have dramatically reduced their energy consumption; electrical appliances are switched off when not in use and the spa, since the time setting and insulation was installed, is now only heated for four hours a day instead of 24.

Learn how to clean your home the environmentally-friendly way with our cleaning guide.

The family have continued using natural cleaning products in the house and use natural potpourri instead of air fresheners. They're still using the energy-saving light bulbs, but occasionally the girls slip back to their old ways of leaving the lights on at night.

The Henshall family from Manchester were spending an average of £560 per year on their water bill - most of which was literally being flushed away! Penney introduced her energy-saving ways to the family to help the environment and reduce costs.

The family have certainly taken on board Penney's advice and continue to recycle and compost. They have also reduced their water wastage by sticking to one wash load a day, reducing shower times to five minutes and ensuring the dishwasher is always full before use.

It's been difficult to cut down on watching television, as the family enjoy different programmes. However, the TV and electrical appliances are now always switched off when not in use.

Cutting back to £50 a week on the food bill meant there were no luxuries

In the kitchen, the family have reduced their 'multiple meals' and try to stick to one meal a night. However, after Penney had gone, the family struggled to keep to such a tight budget.

Follow Penney’s energy-saving ideas from the show in her feature article.

Penney visited a group of students living in South London to change their lazy lifestyles. Frequently hosting parties, the students were producing a mountain of rubbish.

Recycling was easy, but the compost heap started to smell in the garden!

Following Penney's advice was easy at first, but the students soon found it difficult to keep up the routine in a large household. During exam time, it was difficult to co-ordinate people's laundry loads, so most of the students went back to washing individually and recycling became less frequent.

Buying in bulk saved the students money and time and they have continued to cook meals in small groups, instead of buying so much packaged food.

Andrew Peake and Philip Bret enjoyed living the high life in their luxury apartment in London, but things soon changed when Penney stepped in...

All old clothes are now sent straight to the charity shop

Now, the pair share washing loads, make sure the dishwasher is always full and keep their shower time down to a few minutes.

The only problem they encountered was with the waste disposal unit, which got blocked and had to be fixed by a plumber. After an expensive call out charge, they were reluctant to use it again.

Andrew and Philip were so impressed by Penney's advice, they persuaded Thames Water to implement the save-a-flush devices to their block of flats, saving a million litres of water. After the sucess, they were mentioned in the South London press and Thames Water's press release.

Caroline and Jeffrey Cunningham from Slough were using twice the amount of gas as the average household. Penney changed their wasteful ways by transforming their house into an energy-efficient machine.

Their gas bills have significantly reduced since a new bolier with a timer and thermostat was installed.

Penney tried to reduce the family's water wastage with a strict timing system. However the family enjoy their baths and have found the system difficult to follow. The children are no longer outside the bathroom timing with a stop watch and whistle, but there has definitely been an improvement.

Recycling has continued and the family buy less packaged food and have a delivery of organic fruit and vegetables each week.

Thanks to Penney, the family have become much more environmentally-aware and now understand the effects that their bad behaviour had on the environment.

The Bendall-Jones family from Milton Keynes were wasting a huge amount of energy, food and nappies. With a ‘throw-away’ mentality, the family were disposing of 105 nappies a week – that’s 2,730 every six months! Penney helped curb their wasteful ways and since the show, the family have tried to follow her energy-saving suggestions - with some success.

Recycling has continued, however, the wormery has been given to Gemma’s mum, as Gemma couldn't stand the worms!

Gemma found the washable nappies were quick and easy to use during the summer months, and the wastage of food has been reduced to a minimum. Less packaged food is bought and the family do a lot of home cooking with fresh produce and freeze any extra food they make. However, cutting down on baths has been a real struggle for Gemma and the children.

Penney’s challenge was to get the Roberts family out of their driving seats and start using alternative forms of travel.

Since the show, the Roberts have made a conscious effort to reduce their excessive car journeys and water wastage. They now think ahead before travelling and try to combine car journeys and walk whenever possible. However, Penney's strict regime has been difficult to follow, especially when the family is in a rush and the public transport is infrequent.

Water wastage has been kept to a minimum, with shorter showers, economical car-washing and not running the cold water tap for long periods. Recycling has also continued and a large proportion of waste is now saved.

Penney visited the Tibbet family, who saved an impressive £420 after following Penney’s housekeeping regime for two weeks.

Post Penney's visit, the family have continued with their new eco-friendly ways; the central heating has been kept down to a minimum, all lights are switched off at night and food bills have been carefully monitored.

John has become a garbage guru and all waste continues to be recycled. Food waste is put into the green cone, the wormery or given to the chickens (who currently lay 2-3 eggs a day!). The family have found it difficult to reduce their washing and tumble drying loads, but they at least now wash at a more energy-saving setting of 40C (104F).

Find out more information about the green products featured in the show.

Penney Poyzer has written a book to accompany the series called 'No Waste Like 91Èȱ¬', published by Virgin Books, ISBN: 0753510278. This book can be purchased from most high-street shops and online book retailers.