New Year’s Resolution to recycle more? Here’s how!

If you’re looking to have a fresh start in the new year, you might be looking at replacing some of your old items. When you’re doing this, look to see whether the company you’re buying from has a take back or recycling scheme. For example, if you’re buying a new washing machine, Curry’s offer collection of any household electrical goods on delivery of your new product.

If Santa brought lots of new toys for the little ones, make sure any paper or cardboard packaging is put in the correct bin. If you no longer need the old toys or gadgets, you can take them to a local recycling centre to make sure they’re properly recycled. Or, if they’re in a good condition, donate them to your local charity shop so someone else can enjoy your preloved items.

You could also look at opting to use products with little to no packaging so you can recycle even more. Maybe try swapping to a shampoo bar to ditch the plastic bottle or try buying your fruit and vegetables without any packaging. Reducing the amount of plastic you’re using is a great way to cut down on the waste you’re generating.

Food waste is a big one. WRAP found that UK households throw away 6.6 million tonnes of food waste a year. Of that, almost three quarters of that waste could have been eaten. The best way to cut down on food waste is to plan ahead. You could try meal planning to ensure you’re only buying what you need and using all the food you’re buying. Try using a compost bin for any scraps and peels left over from cooking so any waste you’re generating is disposed of and recycled correctly.

If you’re recycling more at home, make sure you’re cleaning out anything that goes in your recycling bin. Wash out any empty tins or jars so food doesn’t contaminate your recycling. Anything with grease should not be put in your recycling bin too as this can also contaminate the other items in your recycling bin.

If you’re looking to recycle more in your business, the best place to start is to look at what you’re throwing away and how you’re throwing it away.

Does your site have separate recycling bins? If not, you could start separating your waste streams to boost your recycling even more. Instead of throwing everything in your general waste bin, you could have separate containers for dry mixed recycling, plastic, and glass waste. This makes it even easier to boost your recycling.

Can you give old equipment a new life? Before throwing away your waste electrical goods, can you try and repair it? This is not only great for the environment, but great for your pocket. It’s usually cheaper to repair an electrical good than to buy a new one. So, you can not only boost your business’s environmental credits, but cut your costs too.

Another way you can become more sustainable at work is by cutting down on the amount of waste your business is producing. For example, switch out any single-use plastic bottles for reusable ones. Maybe try going paperless to cut down on your printing and reduce the amount of waste you’re generating. This is another great way to cut down on your business’s costs too.

Need help creating a full waste management plan to help your business recycle more? Our team of waste experts can help. Flame UK are one of the UK’s leading waste management brokers, aiming to divert as much of your waste from landfill as possible. Contact us to find out more.