Sustainability @ Home - Waste and Recycling
Over the last 10-weeks local authorities across the UK have reported a huge surge in domestic waste. Whether you’ve been having a big clear out, finally getting those jobs done around the house or simply just spending more time at home, all of us are responsible for generating more household waste. With many collection teams experiencing staff absences and making provisions to ensure worker safety by implementing social distancing, local authorities are under increased pressure. In a bid to support our key workers and services during this time we have created a quick guide below to help you manage and reduce your waste.
Get to know your recycling
Waste streams generally vary dependant on your location, so it is good to familiarise yourself with the processes in place in your local area. Correctly sorting your recycling is essential to ensure that your waste is recycled. In some instances, one incorrect item in a bin or dustbin lorry can contaminate the entire load, resulting in all materials within that bin or lorry being disposed of as general waste.
Here in Kirklees, household recycling is pretty similar to that at the University. The Green Bin is for recyclable items such as:
- Newspapers and magazines
- Junk mail and envelopes
- Cardboard
- Telephone directories
- Books (remove hardback covers first)
- Plastic bottles with caps removed
- Drinks cans, food tins and empty aerosol cans
For items not on this list use your grey bin, compost bin or take it to your local recycling centre. Before taking your waste to a recycling centre check the information on location, permits and rules.
In many instances, excess recycling can be placed in clear bags next to your recycling bin for removal on collection days, however please check with your local authority before doing so.
Reducing your waste
While it is important to sort your waste correctly, there are also steps that you can take to reduce your waste in the first instance. Take a look as some of the suggestions below:
- Where possible avoid the plastic packaging or sign up to receive a local veg box
- Make your own: where you can’t avoid packaging try making something new such as pasta, bread and pizza!
- Cancel junk mail subscriptions and transfer to online bills and statements
- Ditch the cling film and kitchen foil, transferring to beeswax wraps and Tupperware to store food
- Convert to soap and shampoo bars to save plastic waste in the bathroom
- Reinvent your left-over food into new meals and bakes
- Use old mail and envelopes as scrap paper for your shopping lists
- Remember to bag up any clothing or household items that can be donated to charity, and store these until the charity shops are able to accept collections
Activity
With many of us using our time at home to finally get those jobs done and tidy up we may be generating some unusual excess waste. Before sending this to the bin, why not get creative and involve the kids with some of the activities below?
- Cut up old t-shirts or bedding to use as cleaning rags and cloths
- Build a bug hotel or start your own compost heap with garden waste
- Gather up all those odd socks and take a look at WRAPS ‘101 Things to do with an old sock’
Further Information
Check out the guidelines provided by your local authority below!
