Tips on how to reduce and reuse

In the UK we throw away around 6.7 million tonnes of food each year. The average family throws away around £700 worth of food shopping. Find some suggestions as to how we can cut down on our rubbish.

Composting food

Garden composting is easy and everyone can do it. You could reduce your waste by a third by using a compost bin to make your own fertiliser.

If you don’t have space for a bin you could work with a neighbour, sharing the costs and the benefits of thriving gardens.

If you live in a flat, why not get together with your neighbours or caretaker manager to get one for the communal garden.

Alternatively you could get a food waste digester to compost your unwanted food.

A little different from the conventional compost bin, the digester uses solar energy to break down food into water - great for watering your plants with.

To find out more about composting and compost bin special offers visit Essex Get Composting.

If you want to turn all of your food waste - even cooked leftovers - into compost at home, you can use a kitchen composter.

Junk mail

For more information about how to avoid junk mail and request your free Stamp out junk mail pack visit Recycle for Essex.

Nappies

Switch to cloth nappies to save money and help the environment.

Find out more about cloth nappies

Batteries

Britain is one of Europe’s worst battery recyclers. 600 million are sent to landfill every year, where they disintegrate and release damaging chemicals into the air.

Find your nearest battery collection point to safely throw away your batteries.

Vapes and e-cigarettes

We advise you to either return vapes to the shop you bought them from or take them to a Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC).

Find your nearest recycling point and more information on how to recycle your vapes

Light bulbs

Use energy saving light bulbs. They can last 5 times longer than the regular ones.

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