Waste Reduction & Recycling

UK households generate over 30 million tonnes of waste each year. By reducing the amount of waste we produce and reusing as much as we can instead of just binning it, we not only reduce the volume of material sent to landfill but also reduce the amount of energy used to manufacture new products from raw materials.

Tips for reducing your waste

Cancel Junk Mail

• Most of us receive a large amount of junk mail through our letterboxes, however we can reduce this by registering with the Mail Preference Service
• You can help further by ensuring that any mail you do still receive is sorted and sent for recycling rather than just being placed into your main rubbish bin.

Reuse carrier bags

• UK supermarkets hand out an estimated 17.5 billion plastic bags every year.
• Made of polythene - they are hazardous to manufacture and are reported to take up to 500 years to decompose.
• Ideally use canvas bags or re-usable carrier bags and remember to keep them available so you have them when you need them.

Use a digital camera rather than traditional film

• If you use a film camera, and have your photos printed each time, your snapshots will be using up a huge amount of paper.
• Processing film also employs a large quantity of potentially damaging chemicals.
• Digital cameras negate the need for chemical-laden developing and printing processes. By being able to look through your photos before printing you'll be saving on paper wastage. You can also easily share images with family and friends without having to produce extra copies.

Buy in bulk to reduce packaging

• Buying in bulk is a good way though to cut down on excess packaging as more items together tend to need less protection than fewer, smaller items. Another way to reduce the waste is to buy refill options whenever they're available.
• You may also want to consider buying more organic or local produce, which tend to have much less packaging when compared to mainstream, supermarket purchases.

Drink tap rather than bottled water

• The production of bottled water uses a huge amount of energy. Firstly there's the energy required to source the water, followed by the energy and chemicals needed to produce the plastic bottles it sits in. Next come the carbon emissions associated with transporting the bottles to the shops and finally the huge volume of waste generated in landfill sites from discarded bottles.
• This can be avoided by simply avoiding buying bottled water and instead just turning on your tap and drinking the water from there.
• If you feel that your tap water taste isn't up to scratch, why not invest in a water filter jug?

Use rechargeable batteries

• Over 600 million disposable household batteries are bought in the UK every year - with all but 5% of them ending up in landfill sites at the end of their life.
• Switching to rechargeable batteries instead of disposable ones not only works out cheaper in the long run but also has the potential to cut a huge amount of potentially-polluting waste from heading to the landfill sites every year.
• For an even greener solution, why not invest in a solar powered battery charger, or buy USB batteries which plug into your PC and charge up using your computer's power while it's on.

Tips for re-using or re-homing your unwanted items

Compost your food waste

• Food waste from your home is just a part of the 30% of waste generated by an average household which can be composted rather than thrown away with the main rubbish.

Donate your unwanted items to charity

• When you have a clearout, think carefully about what to do with the items that you are throwing out and consider how many are suitable to be reused by someone else rather than just going straight into the bin.
• Charity shops are always grateful for donations of clothes, toys, bric-a-brac and other items which can be resold to raise much-needed funds for their cause so why not bag up your unwanted items and take them along to the nearest shop.

Make the most of your unwanted furniture

• Rather than sending your unwanted wardrobe or surplus settee to join the thousands upon thousands of other furniture items sent to landfill sites every year, make sure you find a better home for it.
• Many local authorities and other local organisations offer collection schemes for your unwanted items. These are then either put to use again in low income households and charity organisations or, in the case of some wooden furniture items, can be sent for recycling.

Recycle your old mobile phone

• There are a number of mobile phone recycling scheme now available which can take your old phone off your hands and make use of it.
• Most schemes will provide you with a freepost address to send your phone to so there's no cost and very little hassle involved in making sure your old mobiles go to a better home than the landfill.

Join a library

• The world's publishing industries are vast consumers of paper.
• Rather than buying a new book, take one out at the library, borrow from a friend or buy one from a second-hand shop or charity instead.

Donate left over paint

• The best use for left over paint is to donate it to a scheme which redistributes the left over paint to those who need it and may not otherwise be able to afford it.

Donate your old spectacles

• Due to the mixture of materials used, it's difficult to recycle old spectacles so most recycling facilities won't accept them. However, there are a number of schemes which will recycle your old glasses by redistributing them to people in developing countries.
• Donating your glasses provides better vision to millions of people in developing countries who would otherwise have to go without optical help.

Increase recycling

• There is a large amount of information and advice on local recycling schemes and facilities through our recycling pages.