Reducing your waste

Recycling as much of your waste as you can is great, but it is even better to try and reduce the amount of waste you produce in the first place. It isn't always easy, but reducing your waste helps the environment, it can also help you to save money.
 

Reducing food waste

To reduce the amount of food waste you have, you can:

• keep your fridge at a cool 0 to 5 degrees Celsius, this makes your food last longer in the fridge 
• check out the A to Z of food storage on the Love Food Hate Waste website - find out the best place to store your food and if you can freeze it
• plan your meals - check your fridge and cupboard and make a list of what you need before going food shopping 
• if you're not planning on using your leftovers straight away, put them in a container or sealed bag, label and date it and place in your freezer
• be aware of the meaning of date labels:
  • 'best before' is about quality and food should be safe to eat after the date
  • 'use by' is about food safety - you can eat it right up to the use by date, but not after

You can find out more useful food tips on the Love Food Hate Waste website.
 

You can recycle food waste using our weekly food waste collection, or you can try composting at home.
 

Reducing single use plastic

Single use plastic is plastic that you use once (or for one purpose) and then throw away (for example: plastic water bottles, plastic cutlery and coffee cups).

To reduce the amount of single use plastic you use, you can:

• take a reusable water bottle or coffee cup when you go out
• download the Refill app to find out where you can refill your water bottle and go plastic free shopping
• use your own reusable containers when buying meat, fish, cheese, fruit and vegetables; most major supermarkets and local suppliers will let you
• remember to take reusable shopping bags with you to the shops
• say no to straws or carry your own bamboo or metal ones
• take your lunch to work in reusable containers
• try shampoo bars or soap instead of bottled cosmetics

Reusable nappies

You could save money and help the environment at the same time by using reusable 'real' nappies.

Modern reusable nappies:

• are easy to wash
• don't need to be soaked
• don't have chemical content
• have soft, natural fibres against baby's delicate skin
• use less energy and water, even including the washing
• are not tested on animals

The council offer a free trial pack for Real Nappies. 
 

Repair, donate, sell or upcycle

Before throwing items away, consider if you can repair or upcycle them, or if you can donate or sell them.

You can try:

• upcycling your existing clothes by embellishing, altering and combining them in new ways
• taking unwanted clothes and toys to charity shops
• taking unwanted furniture that is in good condition to a furniture reuse scheme - in West Berkshire there is The Community Furniture Project Newbury
• visiting a repair cafe (see further information below)

Sustainable fashion

Fast fashion is the mass production and quick turnaround of cheap and low quality clothes. This comes at a large environmental cost and encourages over-consumption, meaning items are worn only a few times before they are thrown away.

By following the tips below, starting with buying less, you can stay in fashion whilst reducing the amount of clothes that go to waste:

• buy less - it helps to turn off email or post subscriptions to fashion retailers, avoiding temptation
• swap it - either with friends and family or try an online swapping platform, for example Vinted, Depop or Swopped
• have damaged clothing repaired for free at a local repair cafe (see further information below) or look into repair schemes run by individual retailers
• even for clothing that is beyond repair, certain brands offer a recycling service and a voucher toward your next purchase 

The recycle now website has information on recycling textiles.
 

If you do need to buy something new:

• make your clothes last by washing at a cooler 30 degrees and air drying them
• borrow - think about renting instead of buying new
• shop secondhand at charity shops or online selling sites, for example eBay, Re-Fashion, Thrift plus or ReRun Clothing

Furniture

Like fast fashion, fast furniture is also an issue. The availability of mass-produced items encourages people to change their furniture frequently.

Instead, try:

• buying secondhand furniture
• hiring furniture - this is a good way of getting the look you love whilst keeping the flexibility to change your mind
• looking into rental services for cutlery, crockery and tableware if you are holding a party or event

Repair cafes

Repair cafes are a growing global movement where people bring their broken household items along for volunteers to repair.

People usually make a small donation (whether or not the item is successfully repaired) and sit with the volunteer while the repair is being attempted to learn repair skills.

In West Berkshire, there are the following repair cafes:

• Hungerford Repair Cafe
• East Garston Repair Cafe
• Newbury and Thatcham Repair Cafe
• Reading Repair Cafe
• Purley-on-Thames Repair Cafe

If you are handy with a set of tools or just fancy having a go at making repairs at home, visit the iFixit website for repair guides for a wide range of household devices. If you enjoy repairing items, like helping others with repairs and sharing your skills, you could volunteer at a repair cafe in your area.

Other community opportunities

Householders visiting our recycling centres have the opportunity to take away paint free of charge using our Community RePaint scheme. 

Swap Events are community events where people bring clothes, baby equipment or other small household items to swap.

Community fridges are publicly available fridges which store unwanted fresh food from the local area, so it can be passed on to those who can make use of it. To find a community fridge near you, head to the Hubbub website. Communities may also have community larders for non-fresh foods.

There may be local community composting schemes, where communities come together to compost their suitable household and garden waste and produce compost for an area.