Recycle more and reduce

Recycling reduces the amount of waste we send to landfill as items are made into new things. It costs much more to send rubbish to landfill than it does to send recycling to be processed. This is money that could be spent on other council services. Landfill sites are producers of harmful greenhouse gases, so there’s a double environmental benefit to increasing our recycling.

General tips to help you recycle more and reduce your waste

• Check your collection day to see if we offer kerbside recycling collections at your address.
• Download your recycling calendar so you can see which day you should put out which bin.
• Check what you can put in which bin to make sure your recycling is properly separated for collection.
• Download your recycling wheel to help you find out what you can recycle and where you need to put it.
• Try and avoid disposable products – look out for products that you can buy refills for, as these often work out more cost effective as well as reducing the amount of plastic and glass that gets thrown away.

Food recycling

Seven million tonnes of food and drink are thrown away every year, which is 19% of all the food we buy – this would fill nine Wembley Stadiums!

Fruit, vegetables and bread are the most common types of food wasted.

Think before you buy

• You can reduce the amount of food your household wastes by planning meals and writing a shopping lists.
• Don’t forget your reusable shopping bags to avoid using plastic carriers, which many stores charge for.

Tips to help you make the most of the food you buy

• Keep fruit and veg in it’s packaging for as long as possible, as it will stay fresh longer.
• Don’t put bread in the fridge, it will go stale quicker. Keep it in a cool dark place or freeze it, and take out what you need as and when.
• Look out for resealable packaging or try and store food in air-tight containers

For the A-Z of food saving tips visit the love food hate waste website.

Lining food caddies

Food waste can be put into the brown bin in compostable bags. Or try using old newspaper or kitchen towel to line your brown food bin.

Furniture recycling

Advertise your old furniture on local free websites. One person’s trash is another person’s treasure. By getting people to take it away from your home for free you are saving on paid for disposal costs or petrol from transporting to your household waste site.

Composting and water butts

Find out about composting and water butts on the recycle now website

You can also buy a food digester or composter at a discount, directly from this supplier’s website.