Simple Ways to Reduce Waste at Home
It’s Zero Waste Week, a good opportunity to have a look at the things we throw away and see if there are simple ways to create a little less waste.
When we think about waste, recycling is often the first thing that comes to mind. But there are lots of things we can try before something reaches the recycling bin, from buying a little less to finding new uses for things we already have.
Our Sustainability Team have pulled together some simple ideas to help reduce waste, save money and make the most of the things you may already have at home.
Start with less
One of the simplest ways to reduce waste is to avoid creating it in the first place.
Next time you’re thinking about buying something, you could ask yourself:
- Do I really need it?
- Could I borrow one instead?
- Is there a second-hand option?
- Could I choose a refillable version?
- Is it something I’m likely to use for a long time?
There are also lots of easy swaps you could try. For example, a bar of soap instead of liquid soap in a plastic bottle, a reusable water bottle instead of buying bottled water, or keeping a reusable shopping bag in your bag or car. Even one small swap can be a useful place to start.
Make more of what you already have
Before putting something in the bin, it’s worth taking a moment to think about whether it could be useful to someone else.
You could try:
- Reusing shopping bags and food containers
- Donating unwanted items to charity
- Swapping things with friends, family or neighbours
- Sharing surplus food through community apps such as Olio
- Keeping things in use for longer can help reduce waste and means we get more value from the materials and resources that went into making them.
Could it be repaired?
If a piece of clothing, furniture, an electrical appliance or another household item stops working, it might be worth seeing whether it can be repaired.
Sometimes it could be something as simple as replacing a button, fixing a loose handle or getting a small electrical repair. It could save you money too.
Your local Waste Wizard can help you find ways to repair, reuse or recycle a wide range of household items. Take a look at some of the options available below.
Bedford Borough Council Reduce Reuse Recycle
Get creative with upcycling
An empty glass jar could become a storage container, old textiles could be turned into cleaning cloths, or a tired piece of furniture could be refreshed with a coat of paint.
There are plenty of ideas online for giving old items a new purpose, so before throwing something away, have a think about whether it could be useful in a different way.
Recycling
Once something has reached the end of its useful life, recycling it correctly can help keep materials in use. There are recycling options beyond your household recycling bin.
Soft plastics
Many major supermarkets have collection points for soft plastics, including plastic bags, bread bags, crisp packets and food pouches. If you’re using one of these collections, remember to check that items are clean and free from food residue.
Cosmetics and makeup packaging
Some Boots, Superdrug and Sainsbury’s stores accept empty cosmetics and makeup packaging for recycling. Boots also offers Advantage Card rewards through its recycling scheme.
Unwanted medicines
Got some expired or unwanted medicines at home? Your local pharmacy, including Boots, may be able to take them back for safe disposal.
Clothing and textiles
If you have clothes or textiles, you no longer want, there may be options to give them another life.
Retailers including H&M accept unwanted clothing and textiles from any brand for reuse and recycling. Dunelm also has textile take-back points at many stores for clean, bagged clothing and household textiles.
Electrical items
Got an old electrical item that you no longer use? Retailers including Currys offer recycling services for unwanted electrical and electronic items.
A few questions to ask at home
If you’d like to make a few changes, why not have a quick chat with the people you live with?
You could ask:
- What do we throw away regularly that we could reduce or reuse?
- Are there any single-use items we could swap for reusable ones?
- Is there anything at home that could be repaired rather than replaced?
- What’s one small change we could try this month?
Reducing waste doesn’t have to mean making lots of big changes at once. It could simply be about noticing what you throw away and finding one or two things that work for you.
This Zero Waste Week, why not pick one idea to try? You might find it saves a bit of money, clears some space at home and creates a little less waste along the way.
