Top-end property magazine Country Life has provided a set of tips for people embarking on home improvement with an eye for their environmental impact.From kitchen design to transport choices, homeowners were urged by the magazine to take into account the large impact that lifestyle and house design choices could have on carbon dioxide emissions and waste production.Reduce, re-use, repair and recycle are the four rs advised by the guide, with the kitchen identified as a particular area where changes can have a large impact on lowering carbon and waste footprints.Claiming that Europes refrigerators and freezers account for 62 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions every year, the magazine urged that energy-consuming appliances should be used in moderation.About eight per cent of energy supplied to UK households is wasted by electronic equipment left on standby thats equivalent to four million tonnes of CO2 annually, it said.Also highlighted was the need to dispose of waste more responsibly.With 40 to 60 per cent of household waste, including paper, identified as biodegradable, home-owners can employ waste disposal units and composting equipment, while upping recycling rates.UK households improved their disposal of kitchen and household waste in 2005-6, when a 27 per cent recycling rate was achieved, according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.