Many of us may try to do our bit to help save the planet, but a Croydon woman has made being green a way of life.

Winner of the Croydon Green Household of the Year award, Elaine Insua-Cao's house in Brighton Road, South Croydon, contains a plethora of eco-friendly items.

A £500 grant from the Government helped Elaine and her family install solar panels for heating and hot water and, although she realises it will take a few years to get the money back, she has no regrets.

"They're excellent," Elaine said, "I feel I am doing something for the environment."

Elaine and her husband only use their car if they absolutely have to. And while most people would not look twice at junk mail, Elaine cuts up the envelopes to make new ones for herself.

"For years and years I have saved and recycled paper and because we don't have a kerbside collection for our plastic and cardboard, I get on the bus using my freedom pass and go to the recycling centre with it," she said.

When the retired couple were bringing up their seven children they were given so many bags of clothes that they were able to use the money they saved to help them through university .

And it seems Elaine's eco- attitude has rubbed off on her offspring. Son Paul works as an environmental specialist in Vietnam where he teaches people how to use less resources.

Elaine has also written her own book, Waste Not Want Not, with more than 50 ideas on how to minimise waste.

"It's extremely important to raise awareness about green issues and climate change because people are so wasteful and the landfills are getting bigger. We've got to ask what are we leaving for our children and grandchildren. I'm a war baby and we had to save all the scraps we had, so I wouldn't dream of wasting anything," she said.