But how many people consider the environmental impact of the barbecue before deciding to have one?

Some barbies use bottled gas while others use charcoal.

Bottled gas is derived from fossil fuels and because of this style of cooking, much of the energy is lost straight to the air.

Charcoal is a renewable source of fuel, usually transported much shorter distances from the source of production.

Litter

Yet, during the production process and the early part of burning, it produces a lot of smoke, not helped by fat dripping on to it!

Disposable barbecues are thrown away in large numbers each year, also causing litter problems in public bins not designed to accommodate them.

Supermarkets go to enormous lengths to produce mouth-watering looking meat products that are "perfect for the barbecue".

However, some of these products come from places such as Thailand and Brazil, where grazing of livestock is a contributing factor behind the loss of tropical rainforest.

Of course, you may even consider the whole impact of meat producing on the environment, which is far less efficient than producing vegetarian food.

Recycle

You can't have a barbecue without some liquid refreshment to wash it down!

Try to ensure that you buy your wine, spirits and beer in recyclable containers and then remember to actually recycle them at bottle banks and using the kerbside service.

Pre-packaged food and disposable plates, cups and cutlery produce an unnecessary waste burden, especially as much of this material won't be recyclable because of food contamination.

And do you really want to use that patio heater, wasting precious fossil fuels to heat up the ambient air?

With so many potential environmental impacts, it's no wonder that people just want to get on with it!

Having a meat-free, energy saving, homemade food, and lots of washing up, barbecue isn't everybody's idea of fun.

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