Reduce
Reduce food waste - A third of the food we buy gets thrown away and ends up in landfill, to reduce this try to plan your shopping trips and use up leftovers. For tips on reducing waste visit Love food hate waste.
Smart shopping - Try to reduce the amount of packaging you buy. Consider packaging alternatives when buying food and try to avoid buying items that appear over packaged. Over three million shopping bags in the Anglian region are handed out weekly. Re-use carrier bags, buy strong re-usable shopping bags, or use a cloth bag. Visit Suffolk Recycling for more smart shopping tips and advice.
Junk mail - The Mail Preference Service is a free service that will remove your details from company databases and prevent some unsolicited mail coming through your door. This will not stop unaddressed mail from getting through to you, so to stop unaddressed mail delivered by the Royal Mail visit Opt out. To stop Yellow Pages from being delivered to your doorstep phone 0800 671444.
Reuse
Reusable nappies are not a new way to help protect the environment and your baby’s health. There are now many different makes, designs and styles to suit the size and shape of your baby. The National Real Nappy Network is an independent source of advice, information reviews from mums with experience of using real nappies. Visit Goreal, email info@goreal.org.uk or phone 0845 850 0606.
Home composting - Composting your food waste at home is a great way of making your own fertilizer. You can make your own compost very easily by piling your garden waste up in a quiet corner of your garden and with a little effort you can have your own compost within 6-12 months. For best results it is advisable to use an enclosed container. For more information visit Recycle Now.
PC recycling - Computer equipment is often reusable, and charities can be very happy to receive items. It is important to make sure that none of your personal details are left on the hard drive before you give your PC away. Visit Donate a PC for details of how to donate your PC to charity.
Batteries - Batteries are now recyclable with your blue bin collection but you can still reduce the number you dispose of by buying reusable makes.
Reuse containers - Why not reuse margarine, ice cream and other plastic tubs in the home? They are a useful alternative to using plastic bags to store vegetables and left over food in the fridge. Plastic bottles can be reused for taking drinks out of the house or for watering indoor plants. Visit Suffolk Recycling for more advice.
Reuse websites - There are a range of organisations that deal with the re-use of second hand goods. You can also contact your local charity shops to see if they can benefit from your unwanted goods.
Recycling banks - There are mini recycling banks (bring sites) located across the borough mainly at supermarkets and community centres. Most have facilities for recycling glass. Some of the larger sites also accept paper and textiles. If you have identified a location in your community that may benefit from a bring bank please phone 01284 757320 so we can investigate this further.
What can be recycled in your blue bin? See Your guide to recycling (PDF 137Kb) for full details.
What happens to my recycling? - The materials you send for recycling are separated at the Materials Recycling Facility before being sent on to reprocessing facilities. Material can either be sent to UK or overseas destinations (predominantly China and Hong Kong) depending on the demand for certain materials streams.
Printer/toner cartridges and mobile phones can all be recycled. If you have an old mobile phone, we can send you a freepost envelope to recycle it, and a £5 donation will be made to a Suffolk school of your choice. Email us at waste.mangement@stedsbc.gov.uk.
Electrical items can be taken to recycling centres, and we also offer a large electrical items collection service.
Useful links
