Video report by Lucia Adams and Lorna Blackwood

Wayne Hemingway was brought up to “make-do-and-mend”. During his Lancashire childhood, everything was re-used, nothing was thrown away. He remembers using old cardboard boxes to slide down hills, and his gran boiling the meat bones to make soup.

Today, as a famous figure in the seemingly little related worlds of fashion and town planning, Wayne Hemingway retains that instinct to conserve and re-use. His Chichester home features old boats redesigned into sofas, disused telegraph poles turned into a tepee, and - at the bottom of the garden - an upside-down boat which somehow doubles as a seesaw and a storage shed. The house and gardens are an ongoing project for Wayne and his wife and business partner, Gerardine.

“We've just had our own sewerage system fitted,” he proudly explains. “Everything we do from washing to bathwater goes into the treatment plant, where worms break it down and fresh water comes out and goes to irrigate the land. No water is wasted.”

Built and designed by Hemingway and his wife, their home was used as an experiment for the affordable housing projects around the country in which they are involved. Their partnership, Hemingway Design, first got involved with development after he wrote an article complaining about the “Wimpeyfication and Barrattification of Britain”.

To his surprise, the reaction of Wimpey Homes was to ask him to help to design housing developments, which resulted in the 800-property Staiths South Bank project in Gateshead that won numerous architectural awards.

Since then, Hemingway has been vocal about housebuilding in this country. His current concern is that the Government's new Code for Sustainable Homes will encourage housebuilders to merely tick the right boxes and ignore the most important aspect of building a home: that people must want to live in it. It could mean repeating the mistakes of the 1960s, when large housing developments were built in the middle of nowhere and were then knocked down within four decades because - unlike the houses that the Victorians built, which are still sought-after today - people didn't want to live in them. The carbon footprint of such errors is enormous.

It is ten years since the Hemingways built their home. Its greenification has been a gradual process, and the changes have generally been cheap and enjoyable. The garden holds the most interesting eco features.

Taking pride of place is a toy for adults, their garish orange Dutchtub - an eco-friendly spa bath which doubles as a cooker. The tub is heated by a wood burner and Hemingway spends many evenings relaxing in it while cooking up a feast (with tree-fall wood, of course).

The couple have made their interest in all things eco into a part of their business: Hemingway Design has produced a water butt shaped like, well, a butt, which is on sale at B&Q. Both their front and back gardens feature one of these startling objects, announcing the Hemingways' green credentials to all comers.

Sustainability is very important to him. And it is the non-commercial touches that seem most in line with Hemingway's inclinations.

Seven years ago he dug a wildlife pond with his own hands. The water for the pond is recycled rainwater, which comes down off the roof via a pipe. Over the years it has filled itself with fish, including large carp: the eggs of the fish come in on the feet of visiting ducks. Hemingway is delighted that the pond has developed a huge variety of wildlife, including moorhens nesting under the decking.

The tepee, made out of old telegraph poles, is a great favourite with his four children. In the summer a canvas is erected around it and the older ones can sit around playing music and chatting without being disturbed.

Hemingway admits that they could well afford the flash solar panels, green roof and irrigation systems but it is the simple and cheap ideas, such as building a den with his children out of old road signs and scraps of wood, that gets him really excited.

“We have kids of all ages,” he says, “and there are things here to encourage them to have their mates round - and not ask to be run here, there and everywhere. There's adventure play stuff, places for them to hide, and most of it is made out of junk.”

No doubt his gran would heartily approve.

Discover how to do more for the environment at www.diy.com/oneplanetliving

Wayne's wisdom

Composting is easy and fun. Nothing is more satisfying than seeing everything rot down and getting your hands in among the worms.

Get a water butt. It's simple, cheap and easy to install.

Reduce water use. Turn the tap off while brushing your teeth. Spend less time in the shower. Share a bath.

Re-use. Nothing is rubbish. Print on both sides of the paper.

Turn the heating down and put on a jumper instead. You'll be surprised how much fuel - and money - you can save.

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