According to the 5 R’s, ideally four actions should be taken, if possible, prior to ‘recycling’: refuse, reduce, reuse, repurpose, and then, recycle. Incorporating this methodology into your waste reduction and recycling efforts will minimize landfill waste.
REFUSE
Here are some examples of refusing materials:
- Refuse what you do not need.
- Take your own Tupperware to restaurants.
- Carry a reusable bag in your car or bag.
- Carry a water bottle and hot drink cup.
- Remove yourself from junk mail.
REDUCE
Reduce food waste
According to British Heart Foundation, we throw away 7 million tonnes of food and drink from our homes every year, much of which could have been eaten. It’s costing us £12.5bn a year and is bad for the environment too. Here are our top tips for reducing food waste. Here are their 10 top tips for reducing food waste
1. Check your fridge temperature
It should be between 0-5C. Food, especially milk, will go off much quicker if it’s warmer.
2. Use your fridge wisely
Some foods keep better outside the fridge. This includes bread (keep it in a cool dark place like a bread bin or cupboard), bananas, pineapples, potatoes and onions.
3. Love your list
Make a shopping list (the easiest way is to keep it in the kitchen and add to it as you think of things) and stick to it when you go shopping. Plan ahead and shop with specific meals in mind.
4. Water your veg
Keep the stems of vegetables such as broccoli, celery and asparagus in water to help them stay fresh and crisp.
5. Freeze your 5-a-day…
Got fresh fruit and veg that you can’t use in time? Why not freeze them? Some fruit and veg will lose their texture when frozen – you can deal with this by freezing them pureed or stewed. This applies to tomatoes (use the puree for pasta dishes or pizza), strawberries (use the puree in smoothies or as a sauce for other fresh fruit) and apples (use stewed apple on your porridge or muesli, or as the base for a fruit crumble).
6. …and freeze leftovers
Many leftovers and chilled convenience meals freeze well too. If you’ve made something like pasta or rice with a sauce, freezing the sauce separately will work better.
7. Measure your portions
Reduce waste by cooking only the amount you need. Measuring takes away the guesswork and makes it more likely you’ll get the right amount. Get a handy guide to measuring portions from Love Food Hate Waste
8. Sauces and dips
Lots of leftovers can be made into sauces or dips. If you’ve got leftover beans or pulses (either that you’ve cooked yourself or from a tin), mash or blend with some garlic, lemon juice and herbs for a hummus-style dip (don’t try this with baked beans, unless you rinse them thoroughly first). Slightly over-ripe avocados are great for guacamole, and tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers which need using can go into home-made salsa.
9. Freeze dairy products
Semi-skimmed and skimmed milk freeze better than whole. If it separates once defrosted, just give it a good shake. Hard cheese also freezes well – cut it into smaller portions, or grate some ready to use later.
10. Revive past-it bread
Bread rolls past their best? Put them in the oven for a few minutes to crisp up again. You can also make stale bread into breadcrumbs – either mix them with herbs and onions as a stuffing for chicken or to top baked fish, or freeze the breadcrumbs for later use. Loaves of bread freeze well too. If you’re freezing a loaf or rolls from an in-store bakery, transfer into a freezer bag for better results rather than just freezing it in the packaging it comes in. Find out more from Love Food Hate Waste
For further reading, Green Books publish:
Eat Well, Waste Less, an A-Z guide to using up leftovers
Composting, an easy household guide
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Travel carefully
Cycle and walk more Cycling is one of the simplest lifestyle choices that most individuals can make to reduce their carbon footprint, and it offers huge benefits for health, the economy, air quality and neighbourhoods too, according to www.cyclinguk.org
Reduce food miles
Buy locally – we have a farm shop at Bruern, OX7 6QE, Jane on 07966 437 258 or Henry on 07805 566 773 [email protected]
Bledington Community Shop – Church St, Bledington, Chipping Norton OX7 6XB 01608 659977
REUSE and REPURPOSE
Reusing everyday items, this encourages you to be more creative and reduces the demand for more resources. It can also save you money: cut up used yoghurt pots as plant labels; rinse out glass jars for storage; turn vegetable peelings into compost; or make shredded paper into hamster bedding. Try to upcycle, buys clothes in charity shops, in the community set up repair cafes or visit existing ones
We also need to save other resources
Water saving ideas (as recommended by the RHS)
Make a rain garden
Divert a downpipe to an area lower than the surrounding garden to make a patch where swallows can use mud for nest building or toads can live under stones
Mulch plants
When pruning, chop cuttings up as small as possible and use under shrubs to reduce evaporation
Recycle grey water
Water from your shower or sink is fine to use on ornamental plants
Clear gutters
Make sure all rainwater gets to your water butts
Add a pond
It can be made as part of a water-recycling system, and create a beach of pebbles or marginal plants around the edge
Upsize containers
Use fewer but bigger so there is a greater reserve for moisture
Get porous with parking
Paving creates runoff so replace with gravel, with a ground reinforcement product if necessary, and be creative with planting in between strips
RECYCLE
We all know we can put out our food, paper, tins and bottles plus general waste. But what about other items? E.g. a mattress, cooking oil, batteries? You may know mattresses can be taken to a council recycling centre (our nearest is Dix Pit at Stanton Harcourt, OX29 5BB) or items could be collected for a fee.
Some charities may accept mattresses if they are in good clean condition with no rips, tears or stains, and must have a fire label sewn in, which refers to BS7177.
More details at https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/residents/environment-and-planning/waste-and-recycling/household-waste/recycle-repair-reuse
Other bulky waste can be collected – more information about bulky waste collections; charges and to book a collection online or call the West Oxfordshire District Council customer services team on 01993 861025.