Reduce your RUBBISH by HALF

Join Prima’s crusade to cut down on litter by chucking less in your own bin. It’s easy when you know how

We’re all familiar with the ‘recycle and repair’ message, urging us to reuse or repurpose our rubbish rather than throw it in the bin to end up at landfill. But there is something even more important we can do – and that’s reduce the amount of waste we create in the first place. In the triangle-shaped ‘waste hierarchy’, recycling is one of the smaller measures we can take at the top, while refusing to buy things we don’t need and reducing the amount we use are the cornerstones at the bottom.

It’s not as hard as you might think, according to Jen Gale, author of The Sustainable(ish) Guide To Green Parenting

(Bloomsbury): ‘Most people can reduce their general rubbish by half. The key really is to be more careful about what you are buying.’

Before you start

Warning: This is the messy bit! Before working out how to cut your rubbish, you need to find out what is actually in your bin. Tip a full bin on to an old sheet to find out. You can also do a separate plastic audit, keeping track of all the plastic you throw away in one week. Once you’ve worked out what you’re throwing away, sit down with the family and think about how you’re

You can recycle polypropylene plastic packaging – used in bread, cereal and frozen food bags, bottle and can multipacks and cake wraps – in some supermarkets.

going to tackle it. ‘Ask everyone for ideas,’ says Jen. ‘Compromise to find solutions that everyone can live with – and stick to.’ If your kids or grandchildren insist on a wrapped treat in their lunchbox or after school, suggest they have that one day and something homemade and wrapped in reusable food wrap, such as beeswax, the rest of the time.

Shop for less

Only buy what you need. Check what’s in your fridge and cupboards first, then make a shopping list and stick to it. Gather reusable shopping bags, mesh produce bags and something to put bread or bakery items in. Take washable containers for any meat or fish – and don’t be embarrassed to ask to use them. Butchers have heard it all before!

‘It may feel daunting to change old habits,’ says Jen, ‘But once you have new habits, you won’t look back.’

If you have a local zero-waste shop (they’re popping up everywhere), just buy one or two items to start with, and get advice from the shopkeeper about the best containers to bring. Use

Instead of scrunching up used tin foil, give it a wipe down and reuse it. Recycle when it starts to disintegrate.

their knowledge to help you shop better in future.

When supermarket-shopping, opt for loose foods where you can, and choose aluminium and glass, which are easy to recycle, over plastic packaging. Choose cans rather than plastic pots, or pouches for foods such as tomatoes, pulses, olives and fizzy drinks.

At home

Doorstep veg boxes are great for avoiding packaging, while many of us are now using a doorstep milk delivery, giving the bottles back to be reused. Buy household cleaning products in bulk to save money and plastic waste. Sites like ethicalsuperstore.com have planet-friendly products in extra-big packs, such as five-litre bottles of washing-up liquid and toilet cleaner. Decant them into containers you already have at home. The same goes for shower gel, shampoo and conditioner. Go large on everything from yogurts to crisps, then put into smaller, reusable pots. If you compare the plastic in a six-pack of crisps (which then comes in even more packaging), with a single, larger pack, it makes perfect sense.

Jen says: ‘It can be tempting to buy individually wrapped snacks, especially for kids’ lunch boxes, but getting a bigger size and cutting it into individual slices creates far less rubbish. Better still, if you have time, make homemade snacks and freeze for when you need them.’