Do you want to up your recycling game but are unsure where to start?
From your bathroom to your kitchen, here are some simple, little known ways you can recycle even more and do your bit to help reduce climate change and save our earth.
Collectively, all of our small steps add up to big changes. Here are six ways to recycle more at home...
1. Separate your bathroom rubbish from your recycling
Did you know that only 20% of people recycle anything in their bathroom? You can increase this number really easily by buying an extra bin to separate recyclables or even better, repurpose a box. You could also pop your recycling in a drawstring bag hanging from the back of the door.
2. You can more recycle more bathroom plastic than you might think
You might not realise, but you can actually recycle all sorts of bathroom rubbish. This includes; cardboard tubes in toilet rolls, empty shampoo, conditioner and body wash bottles, bathroom cleaner and bleach bottles (even the spray dispenser), deodorants, shaving foam, moisturiser bottles, hand soap bottles (but this time you need to remove the pump dispenser as this isn’t recyclable).
3. Your food waste bin is your friend
In the kitchen, you can put all your food waste in your food waste bin - from fish bones to cauliflower leaves to coffee granules. Next time you’re doing the tea round at work, check there’s a food waste bin in the kitchen there too because recycling just six tea bags creates enough energy to make a cup of tea!
4. Don’t forget foil
Some things can be easy to forget to recycle such as kitchen foil, pot lids, wrappers and tubs. If you scrunch them all together to form a big ball they’ll be even easier to be reycled. Takeaway containers and BBQ trays can be recycled too (after you’ve given them a quick rinse).
5. All that obsolete tech
Think back to a time before Netflix and Spotify and you might feel nostalgic towards your CDs and DVDs. Lots of us don’t use these any more, and might not even have anything to play them on! Although lots of recycle centres don’t take these, how about donating to a charity shop or give away on freecyle or freegle?
6. Remember: different councils, different recycling rules
In the Forest of Dean, for example, you can’t recycle yoghurt pots, but in South Bristol you can. If you want total confidence about what you can and can’t recycle in your area, pop your postcode into this handy recycling locator.
Recycling is incredibly important, but ultimately the less we consume, the less we waste so try and reduce and reuse where you can.
7. Zero Waste Initiatives
Inspired to do more in your community? There are zero waste initiatives popping up all over the place as communities come together and support each other to take action to reduce waste in their local area.
