Tips to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

REDUCE the amount of rubbish you produce

• Think before you buy.
• Food is a perishable commodity. Do not buy more than you need.
• Buy goods with a minimum amount of packaging or better still try to buy goods made from recycled materials.
• Use refillable containers.
• Avoid over-packaging.
• Buy in bulk when it makes sense and if you can afford it!
• Buy rechargeable batteries and low energy light bulbs. They last longer!
• Compost your kitchen waste and garden waste at home using a home composter or compost heap - this can help reduce your waste by up to 25% and fertilise your soil for nothing.
• Repair and reuse items rather than throw them away.
• Buy your milk in glass bottles from the milkman. Milk bottles can be reused up to 24 times before being recycled.
• Paper costs money to purchase and dispose of. Whether you are at home, school or work, don't waste paper,  use both sides.
• Cancel unwanted catalogues.
• Fed up with receiving junk mail? Write to Mail Preference Services, Freepost 22, LONDON, W1E 7EZ. This will enable you to remove your name from mailing lists which are sold to companies who produce junk mail.

REUSE what you cannot reduce When shopping take your own reusable shopping bags. If you have to use plastic bags reuse them when you go back to the shops or use them as kitchen bin liners. Buy secondhand whenever possible. Use scrap paper for notes. Give gifts in re-usable containers. Don't throw away unwanted clothes,books,  toys or household goods. Charity shops and organisations are always in need of such materials. Hospitals and doctors surgeries would always welcome your unwanted toys and books. Use cloth nappies instead of disposables. Pack your lunch in re-usable containers and don't use throw away items such as plastic and polystyrene plates and cups.

RECYCLE only what you can't reduce or reuse

We all want to keep the environment healthy and pleasant to live in both now and in the future. However, modern society can cause damage to the environment and use resources in an unsustainable manner. But recycling has the following benefits;

• Conserves natural resources - less mining and quarrying helps preserve the landscape and causes less damage to vegetation and animal life.
• Saves energy.
• Creates less waste and pollution.
• We are rapidly exhausting our valuable landfill space.
• Benefits the economy by creating jobs and reducing the need to import raw materials.
• Recycling helps divert potentially valuable materials away from landfill sites.
• Your rubbish becomes the raw materials that manufacturers use to produce new items.