We firmly believe in practising what we preach. We have a mission here in Marchwood to find ways to be ‘green’ in the real sense of the word, and each one of us is involved on a daily basis.
Turning something old and unwanted into something new and practical makes complete sense when you think about it. Glass bottles can become brand new bottles and a plastic cup can be made into a pencil. You can even make a new, warm fleece jacket out of plastic bottles - so why would we throw something away without a second thought?
Londoners alone produce enough rubbish every single year to fill up an Olympic sized swimming pool every hour.
The problem is getting worse as we buy more packaged and disposable goods. Most of the UK’s rubbish is buried in landfill sites or burnt, and both of these have a negative effect on our environment. We are also running out of space
The amount that we recycle has risen steadily in recent years - from 8 per cent of our rubbish in 2000 to a staggering 20 per cent today. But, given the fact that 60 per cent of what we throw away could be recycled, there's room for improvement. With better services now available in every borough, recycling has getting easier and we have less excuses not to do it.
Once you've put your recyclables out for collection - or taken them to the recycling site - they will be picked up and taken for sorting into the different materials or bulked into large quantities ready for transporting to the reprocessors. They are then turned into another material, e.g. crushed glass and chipped plastic, which is then used by manufacturers to make new products.
How you recycle depends on were you live and the type of material to be recycled.
Collections from your home - approximately 80 per cent of households now have services collecting recyclable goods from their home in a bag, box or wheelie bin. If this service is available to you, read the instructions provided to make sure you are recycling as many things as possible. You may be surprised at what you can recycle. If you live in a block of flats where collection from outside your door is difficult, you may have recycling bins alongside your rubbish bins, or close to the entrance to your flats.
Collections from recycling sites - these are your local recycling banks for materials such as bottles, paper and textiles. Some also collect plastic bottles, books and toner cartridges. You can find them in places like your local supermarket car park, on housing estates and on streets. You might have one just round the corner.
Reuse and Recycling Centres - Most boroughs have a larger site where you can take your recyclables and, usually, any household waste that can't be reused or recycled. These sites can often recycle much more than your local recycling sites, and collections from home, for example some collect green garden waste for composting.
Some boroughs also collect other materials for recycling from your home, such as green garden waste, cookers and fridges. You may have to make an appointment for these services and a charge may be made. Please use the facility locator to find out the type of services available in your local area.
Unfortunately, collection services from homes may not available to everyone at the moment. This may be because you:
You local borough is working hard to find ways to collect from these types of properties and will be developing new services to help you recycle more. If you live in one of these types of properties, contact your local council to find out more.
Recycling is just one way to reduce the amount of rubbish being thrown away. Here are a few other things you can do:
Reduce
Re-use
Repair
Recycle
And finally, buy recycled products
Close the loop by buying recycled goods
What types of kitchen food and green garden waste can be recycled?
Composting is nature's own way of recycling. Insects, bugs and other soil organisms break down organic material, such as plant waste from your garden or vegetable food waste from your kitchen, to produce rich fertiliser that's great for plants.
If this waste is not recycled and composted it will go into landfill where it becomes a source of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas (20 times more powerful than CO2) linked to global warming and climate change. By composting at home or through your local council you are also helping to preserve valuable natural peat sources. The composting of green waste is also an essential part of organic and wildlife gardening and encouraging home and community composting can increase local biodiversity.
Things you can compost at home:
Things you shouldn't compost at home:
How to recycle kitchen and green garden waste
To compost your kitchen and garden waste at home build your own compost heap or purchase a compost bin or wormery.
Compost bins - there are many different types of compost bin on the market but essentially they are units with no bottom that must sit on bare earth. You then fill it from the top with your kitchen and garden waste and empty it from the bottom.
If you live on an estate or a block of flats with access to a communal garden why not get together with your neighbours and/or caretaker manager and introduce home composting for everyone.
Wormeries - these units are self contained and so ideal for those with patio gardens or balconies. The wormery uses a slightly different process to compost your waste. Special 'tiger' worms live inside the bin and digest the food waste. They produce a rich compost and a liquid plant food.
Many boroughs subsidise compost bins or wormeries to help get you started.
Green garden waste recycling services
Did you know?
We are all concerned about climate change and full landfills but here is something you can get involved in that will help to make a big difference to reducing waste in our overburdened landfill sites.
The Freecycle network is made up of over 3,600 Freecycle groups, in over 50 countries worldwide, with around 2.5 million members.
It's a grassroots and entirely non-profit movement of people who are giving, and receiving items for free in their own town or borough. The network provides individuals and non-profit organisations with an electronic forum to "recycle" unwanted items. One person's trash can be another's treasure!
Each local group is moderated by a local volunteer and membership is free. The message is simple -
"our mission is to build a worldwide gifting movement that reduces waste, saves precious resources and eases the burden on our landfills while enabling our members to benefit from the strength of a larger community."
Stanelco PLC are members of the Southampton Freecycle Group because our main offices are located in Marchwood. Our employees who are scattered around the country are also members in the London, Croyden, Sutton & Tower Hamlets groups. Freecycle is open to all who want to recycle that special something rather than throw it away. Whether it's a chair, a fax machine, piano, or an old door, feel free to post it. Or maybe you're looking to acquire something yourself. Non profit groups are also welcome to participate too.
For more information please visit the main www.freecycle.org website where you will find your closest group.
www.freecycle.org
www.uk.freecycle.org
www.uk.freecycle.org/help.php#unsub