Improving Recycling at Home
We all know that we’re all still putting too much waste into landfill, but it’s so easy to find excuses for not trying harder: we’re too busy; it’s too difficult; others aren’t doing it, so why should we?; our little bit won’t make any difference anyway.
If you think that your bit doesn’t make any difference, just make the effort for one week. See how much you manage to collect that can be easily recycled – bottles, cans, tins, paper, plastic food trays, cardboard.
If you’re not already putting it into a recycling bin, you might be surprised how quickly it adds up. Multiply that over the course of a year, imagine all that going into landfill and you’ll soon see what a difference it can make.
Repair, Refurbish and Re-use
Throwing things away just because they’re old, out of fashion or broken should never be our first choice. So many things can have another life if we only make the effort – and if you have children you can turn it into a fun activity that can encourage creative and practical skills.
If you Can’t Use It, Can Anyone Else?
Recycling isn’t just about melting down old tin cans and turning them into new tin cans. Taking a box of books or a bag of clothes you’ve finished with down to the charity shop to be resold is also recycling.
As is donating toys and games your children no longer play with to a local nursery. And just because you don’t want that old sofa anymore, there are many people for whom it may be just what they need; so instead of getting the council to take it away, you could always give it away – that’s also recycling.
Basically, if you think something could be useful for someone, do everything you can to find that someone – ask charities, advertise on Freecycle, use your imagination!
Learn What Can and Can’t be Recycled
Once you’re sure that something can’t be repaired, refurbished or re-used, and that no one else is interested in taking it off your hands, then take the time to learn whether it can be recycled or not. You may be surprised by some of the things that can be recycled.
For example, plastic carrier bags are still many environmentalists’ worst nightmare when it comes to waste that lasts forever, but even they can be recycled now. You’ve probably seen a collection point at your local supermarket.
But did you know that that collection bin can also be used to recycle the plastic bag a loaf of bread comes in, the bag that frozen oven chips are packaged in and the shrink wrap and ring joiners used to hold multipacks of bottles and cans together? And a lot more besides.
If you have a garden, you can compost your vegetable peelings, eggshells and used tea bags – if you don’t have room for a compost heap, perhaps you know someone you could give them to who does, or you could even see if the local allotments want them.
In fact, once you know how much can be recycled, then instead of trying to see how much you do recycle, try instead to see how little you can put into general waste.
Companies like CSH Environmental have a state-of-the-art recycling centre meaning that they can now divert roughly 98% of the waste we collect away from landfill. To find out more about their waste collection services and how we are Recycling for the Future, simply contact them today.
