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One person households are the most wasteful

Wednesday, 2 August 2006 12:00 AM

Changing trends in the way people are living on their own is a potential environmental time bomb, according to new research.

However, government statistics show the rise in one-person households is expected to account for 72 per cent of household growth between 2003 and 2026.

One person households are the biggest consumers of land, energy and household appliances in England and Wales, with men between the ages of 35 and 45 being the worst offenders, according to the study by UCL (University College London).

They consume 38 per cent more products, 42 per cent more packaging, 55 per cent more electricity and 61 per cent more gas per capita than four-person households.

The study, published online in the journal Environment, Development and Sustainability, concludes that the current rise in solo living, combined with the group's increasing affluence and consumption, is likely to cause a consumption crisis.

The report recommends countering the trend by providing environmentally-friendly lifestyle choices for this emerging group, such as collective housing, relocation schemes and ecological homes.

Dr Jo Williams, of UCL's Bartlett School of Planning, said: "Current trends show that one-person households are growing more rapidly than other types of household.

"Previously, the typical one person householder was the widow, often on a tight budget and thrifty. The rise in younger, wealthier one person households is having an increasingly serious impact on the environment.

"This means that, as part of the planned housing programme for England and Wales, there is a real opportunity to house this group in ecological new builds that are prestigious, well designed, state of the art and environmentally sound."

In the UK the number of one-person households has risen significantly over the last 30 years. Between 1971 and 2001 there was a 12 per cent shift from 18 per cent of households being one person households to 30 per cent in 2001. Experts believe that the figure will rise to 38 per cent - over a third of all households - by 2026.

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