Reducing your waste is a great way to reduce your impact on the environment. From thinking differently about what you buy, to using re-usable items - there are lots of ways to make a real difference.
Food waste
Avoiding throwing out food will save you money and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Some ways to avoid throwing out food include:
- planning meals ahead of time to avoid unnecessary buying
- freezing perishable food, such as part loaves of bread, to prevent waste
- perfecting portion sizes - only cooking what you need
- storing and freezing leftovers
- always writing a shopping list
- using up leftovers
Love Food Hate Waste is a national campaign providing handy tips and advice to help everyone waste less food.
Home Composting
Home composting is the most environmentally friendly way of of dealing with all your vegetable waste, fruit waste (banana skins, orange peel and similar) and garden waste. Plus it produces compost that can be used as an excellent soil improver.
Donate, sell and swap (for example charity shops or auction sites)
Many of the things we throw away haven't always reached the end of their useful life. Something that you don't want any more can still be used by someone else.
Discover the positive effect of re-use by:
- donating to charities, find a local store at Charity Retail
- selling unwanted items, such as on eBay, Gumtree or Vinted
- Donate online on Freecycle or Freegle
Having a clear out? Donate good quality clothing, books and unwanted gifts to charity shops. Alternatively use the clothing banks at your local recycling centre.
Large items of furniture can be collected for reuse by one of the following organisations:
Also if you are within a 15 mile radius of Gainsborough, Gainsborough Furniture Resource Centre will collect your large household items.
Repair and reuse
Many of the things we throw away haven't always reached the end of their useful life. Before getting rid of them, think of repairing or upcycling them.
When it comes to clothing, it's easy to Love Your Clothes. This allows us to save money and help the environment by making simple changes to the way we buy, use, and get rid of our clothing. See WRAP's Love Your Clothes website for further information.
Recycle carrier bags and reduce packaging
Some supermarkets will collect plastic carrier bags at their stores as a result of an agreement with the On Pack Recycling Label (OPRL) scheme. Some may also accept clean plastic film packaging for recycling, including bread and salad bags, and crisp packets.
Please visit Recycle Now's website for further information.
If you wish to report an item with excessive packaging, confusing labelling or the failure to use recyclable materials please contact Lincolnshire Trading Standards on 0808 223 1133 or email tradingstandards@lincolnshire.gov.uk
Reusable Bag for Life
By switching to a "Bag for Life" you can prevent plastic bags ending up in landfill sites.
Here are a few handy hints to help you remember to use your bags:
- take bags with you every time you go shopping
- keep spare bags in your car or at work so you’re never without
- let the check-out staff know you’ve brought your own before they pack for you – some shops offer rewards for bag reuse
Stop Unwanted Junk Mail
Reducing the amount of junk mail you receive reduces the amount of waste paper that has to be disposed of and recycled.
Here are some ways you can help to reduce your junk mail:
- join the Mail Preference Service to have your name removed from Direct Mailing lists
- reduce unaddressed junk mail by joining the Royal Mail Door to Door service (further details can be found by contacting Royal Mail)
- refuse leaflets and flyers – display a "No Junk Mail" sticker on your door or mail box
- avoid joining mailing lists or leave mailing lists – When filling out forms or surveys, tick the box stating that you do not want to receive further information or offers
Use of cloth nappies
A great way to reduce your waste if you have a baby in nappies is to use cloth nappies) instead of disposable ones. Lincolnshire Cloth Nappy Library was set up by a group of passionate and dedicated volunteers who are on hand to offer advice and support on using cloth nappies. It is operated locally by Lincoln National Childbirth Trust (Also known as NCT Lincoln) but serves all of Lincolnshire.
Volunteers are on hand to provide knowledgeable tips and information, all have used cloth nappies on their own children and are happy to help where they can. Hire kits are available for parents to borrow, for a small charge, for up to 3 months. The kit also comes with an information pack on how to care for the nappies as well as some frequently asked questions.
The aim is to provide the opportunity to try out a range of different types and styles of cloth nappy, in the hope that you will decide that they are a viable alternative to disposables.
If you need more information or if you are interested in hiring a kit please visit NCT Lincoln's Facebook page or you can email them at NappyLibrary.Lincoln@nct.org.uk.