What You Can Do

Everyone can reduce the amount of waste they produce, which will help to relieve some of the pressures of waste disposal in Lancashire. The waste hierarchy is a good way of thinking about how we could achieve this. The top option in the hierarchy is not to produce waste in the first place, the second option is to reuse materials, and the third is to recycle. Therefore we can all contribute to recducing waste in Lancashire by remebering the 3 R’s!

Reduce: The amount of resources used

Reuse: can the materials be used again, by you or someone else?

Recycle: can the materials be made into something else?

Here are some simple, easy to follow tips to cut down on your waste:

Reduce

• Try not to buy over packaged goods
• Cancel the delivery of unwanted newspapers and junk mail. (Contact the Mailing Preference Service: Freepost 22 London W1E 7EZ).
• Buy products that are long lasting and repairable.
• Don’t use plastic carrier bags, instead take a long lasting bag for shopping (every year shoppers in the UK use 8 billion plastic carrier bags – that’s 134 each!)
• Print or photocopy on both sides of paper.

Reuse

• Buy rechargeable batteries instead of disposable. Over 20,000 tonnes of batteries are sent to landfill each year in the UK, and each battery takes 50 times more energy to make than it produces in its lifetime.
• Take old clothes, books etc. to charity shops, or alternatively sell them at a car boot sale.
• Reuse scrap paper for writing notes.
• Use reusable nappies – British parents throw out a total of nine million disposable nappies a day, which makes one million tonnes of nappy waste every year. This takes hundreds of years to decompose in landfill sites. Washable cotton nappies on the other hand can be used hundreds of times and you don’t have to necessarily wash these yourself, there are nappy washing services available. For details of local reusable nappy suppliers go to the Lancashire Real Nappy Network website.

Recycle

• Recycling aluminium cans saves 95% of the energy used to make a new can.
• The Lancashire Community Recycling Network has contacts to organisations in Lancashire who will happily receive items such as furniture, paint and computers to recycle www.lancashirecrn.org (Tel: 01772 532892).
• Buy products made from recycled materials. This will encourage manufacturers to produce more of this type of product.
• Choose products in packaging you know can be recycled.
• Compost kitchen waste (this also saves precious peat habitats if the compost is used on your garden).
• Take unwanted fridges or freezers to a Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC).

Conserve water

There are many simple ways in which you can make a positive impact on the water issues discussed in this section.

Below are some simple tips about how to use water more efficiently at home.

In the home

• Don’t let the taps drip or run unnecessarily, replace washers on dripping taps.
• Only use a washing machine for a full load, or use the half load setting.
• Don’t over fill the kettle.
• When doing the washing up use a bowl or a plug in the sink rather than washing under running water. Only use a dishwasher for a full load.
• Turn off the tap when brushing your teeth.
• Take a shower instead of having a bath, as this uses three times less water.
• Put a plug in the basin when having a wash.
• By fitting a flush saving device in the cistern of your toilet, you can save 1 litre of water every time you flush.

In the garden

• When watering the garden, use a watering can rather than a hosepipe.
• Use a bucket for washing the car rather than a hose as this can save 64 litres of water.
• Capture rainwater in a water butt to use on the garden.