Environment

What's in your bin?

The contents of an average household bin are shown in the figure on the right.

The vast majority of these materials could be recycled, reused or composted to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill.

What could you do, how can you reduce the amount you throw away?

(Source: Environment Agency)

Reduce

Take measures to reduce the amount of waste you produce.

• Look out for products with less packaging or refillable products.
• Buy loose rather than pre-packed fruit and vegetables.
• Reduce paper use by printing or copying on both sides.
• Use mail and fax preference services to cut down on unwanted junk mail.

Reuse

How much of your waste can be reused?

• Donate unwanted clothes and household goods to charity shops and good causes.
• Pass on magazines and books to your local doctors, dentist or hospital.
• Reuse envelopes and write on both sides of paper.
• Reuse carrier bags for shopping.

Recycle

If you have a kerbside collection scheme, one easy way to help out is to make good use of this service. The council also provide recycling centres where clean and sorted waste can be deposited for recycling.