Its Recycle week so I thought we would revisit recycling. Obviously recycling is different for different areas. This blog is what we can do here in Shropshire but it should still be relevant wherever you are, if it isn’t then ask your council why not.
Recycling is great but reduce and reuse are even better. Recycling uses energy and resources are lost in the process.
Tips To Reduce Your Waste
- Don’t buy what you don’t need.
- Buy from a local shop that doesn’t have all the packaging needed by the supermarkets.
- Buy loose fruit and veg and recycle/reuse the plastic bag (see below).
- Buy rechargeable batteries.
- Buy reusable razors.
- Buy a reusable coffee cup.
- Buy reusable nappies
- Buy reusable sanitary products.
- Stop junk mail by firstly signing up to the Mailing Preference Service and then for any unwanted mail you receive – return to sender with a note on the outside that you want to be removed from the database. It will take a while for your junk mail to reduce but it will eventually, I get hardly any now.
Tips To Reuse Your Waste
- Give old clothes and bric a brac to a charity shop.
- Give furniture to a charity shop or an upcycling centre
- Clean damaged clothing can be given to a charity shop just bag it up and label it separately.
- Sell your unwanted items online.
- Freegle your unwanted items. It’s amazing what you ca get rid of. I have moved on old half used tins of paint and interior doors this way.
- Can your local licensed scrap metal dealer collect from you? Your council can give you a list of licensed dealers.
- Look into repairing faulty electrical items sometimes it can be cheaper than buying new.
- Repair damaged clothing.
- Get shoes reheeled and resoled at your local cobblers.
Tips To Recycle Your Waste
- Double check what you can recycle at home. I have been in many households where they have thrown stuff away that can be recycled because they simply didn’t realise, think washed aluminium foil and trays and aerosol cans (recycle the plastic top separately).
- Take a visit to your household waste recycling centre you’d be amazed what you can get rid of there: mattresses, white goods, rubble, hard plastic including broken toys, engine oil, cooking oil, small electrical appliances, beverage cartons.
- Compost your fruit and vegetable food waste.
- Plastic bags can be recycled at larger supermarkets. This also includes any plastic packaging that is stretchy e.g. the bags that fruit and veg come in and also the liners to cereal packets.
Things There Are No Excuse For
Paper, cardboard, glass, steel cans, aluminium cans, batteries, plastic bottles (including cosmetic, bathroom cleaning products and vape bottles). All of these are collected kerbside or can be deposited at a local collection point normally at a nearby supermarket.
Difficult but not impossible
- See Terracycle for a huge list of things you just wouldn’t think you could recycle including writing implements, coffee pods, food sachets and biscuit wrappers.
- Disposable coffee cups can be recycled too see Simply Cups.
Things that you throw away have one of two destinations:
They are sent to landfill which costs your council and ultimately you, via your council tax, money, as well as causing air and ground pollution and creating greenhouse gases. The resources that are embedded in your rubbish are lost and more energy and resources have to be mined, grown and manufactured to make the replacement items.
Or they are sent for incineration. This is better as electricity is made from the heat given off but still results in a loss of resources and can be controversial. People often do not like the idea of an incinerator in their neighbourhood.
If you would like any advice on how to reduce your waste please feel free to give us call on 01746 552423 or email email@example.com