Household recycling

Each household produces around one tonne of rubbish every year. In the UK, households throw away 29.1 million tonnes of waste. So it’s time to start reducing and recycling some of that waste, here’s how.

Reduce your rubbish

Only buy things you really need and think twice before putting something in the bin, most of what we throw away could be used again, for example food containers.

Giveaway or sell items

Be sure to donate second hand clothes, toys and furniture to charity, nearly new shops, jumble sales and community schemes. Plus, don’t forget to try shopping there yourself.

Repair or adapt products

Repairing, restoring or adapting a product you already have is a great way to protect the environment.

Cut down on packaging

About one million tonnes of waste is produced from UK households from plastic packaging alone. So, help to reduce this buy buying your fruit and vegetables loose, taking your own shopping bags to the supermarket and try not to buy drinks in plastic bottles.

Reduce your food waste

£10 billion worth of food is thrown away in Britain annually, if we stopped wasting this much food we could avoid 18 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents being emitted each year, this would work out the same as taking one in five cars off the road. Reduce your waste by creating perfect portion sizes, plan your meals effectively to save on time and money, don’t let foods go to waste, be sure to check the use by dates.

Recycling different materials

We all know of the obvious materials that can be recycled; paper, plastic, metal and glass, but don’t forget, items such as furniture, electronic equipment, building materials and vehicles can also be recycled.

Purchase products that can be recycled

When doing your shopping at the supermarket, buy products that can be recycled easily such as glass jars and tin cans. Or go one better and buy products that have been made from recycled material, you can determine whether or not a product is eco-friendly by looking at the label on the packaging.

Avoid buying hazardous materials

It is difficult to recycle materials that contain hazardous waste, so try to find safer alternatives to household cleaners and buy non-toxic products whenever possible.

Recycle bins

Make sure you have a recycle bin in your home. Keep it in an obvious place so you don’t forget to use it. Your local council should be able to provide you with a recycle bin that can be used for paper, glass, aluminium and plastic.

Check what else you could be doing

Get in touch with your local authority for recycling schemes in your local area. You could even start your own collection scheme at work or school.