Wasteful ways
The UK carries a colossal national wastage but as Recycle Now - the organisation that encourages us to consentrate before we bin - is keen to worry, this could be easily reduced: 'Whether it's vegetable peelings, coffee jars, shampoo bottles or food waste, there are numerous items we could recycle.' In fact nearly two-thirds of all household rubbish could be recycled which could save energy and raw materials and get away from waste going to landfill.
Most councils run kerbside collections for paper, glass, plastics and cardboard. Civic amenity sites (your local tip) may also accept all kinds of other materials for recycling. 'If you are not sure what your council offers, visit their internet site and tap within your postcode to view what, when and where you are able to recycle with your area,' says Recycle Now.
Of course while recycling may help save materials and energy, reducing waste to start with is better yet. That's why the big supermarkets are working while using government and manufacturers to strip away the layers of unnecessary packaging. They're doing an aisle-by-aisle, product-by-product report on their ranges. And Bespoke packaging manufacturers working. In 2008, one supermarket particularly cut own-label food packaging by 25 per cent, removing 47,000 tonnes of excess packaging. 'In 2009, they've committed to reduce this by way of a further five per cent'. Good news for that environment and our purses - this mega retailer is reinvesting the A�10 million saved on packaging into lowering prices.
' Recyclable clear plastic packaging is a success story,' stresses Recycle Now. 'In the UK, recycling rates are increasing and it's really creating a real difference, so let's keep a positive thing going.'
It's easy being green
Put a bin inside your bathroom to get (rinsed-out) shower gel and shampoo bottles as well as cardboard tubes in the loo rolls.
If you've got your backyard, obtain a compost bin! Teabags, eggshells, vegetable peelings and shredded paper can all use with your grass cuttings.
About a third from the food we buy gets disposed of and many of this can have been eaten. For Plastic packaging on storage and tasty, money-saving recipes for leftovers, go to the Love Food Hate Waste website.
Choose reusable affordable handbags and make them by the door so you make sure to bring them to the shops. By keeping a cotton bag folded up inside your handbag or coat pocket, you'll have always a bag when you really need one.
Could you refill instead of replace? Laundry detergents, coffee and hand wash are all available as refills, which cuts back on packaging and helps save money.
Editing your wardrobe? More than half in the clothing that's thrown away might be recycled.
Charity-shop the nice stuff and put the remainder inside a textile recycling bank - log on towards the Recycle Now site to find your nearest one.