Zero Waste is about reducing the waste that we create, reusing where possible, and ultimately sending zero waste to landfill.
Eventually we want to eliminate the concept of waste by creating a culture where everything is reusable and recyclable. This vision is achievable – think of the way people made the most of what they had in the Second World War – and we are starting to make good progress towards it. But there is some way to go and you can help so that perhaps people in the future will be puzzled by the concept of useless rubbish.
You’ve probably heard of the waste hierarchy: Reduce, reuse, recycle:
- Reduce. Reducing the waste that you generate is the most important action you can do. It is possible to do this by thinking carefully about what you buy or pick up and considering how long it will last. Choosing something that costs more but lasts longer might actually save you money in the long term. Finally, you can reduce waste by giving away your unwanted items to others rather than letting them become a waste item.
- Reuse. By being creative, many items can be used for different purposes. For example, glass jars used for storage or decoration, books can be given to strangers or even made into furniture, computers can be donated or upgraded, furniture can be reused or repaired, and printers can be set up to print on both sides to save paper.
- Recycle. This is about buying recycled materials and making sure the waste you can’t reuse goes to a place where the material will be processed into a usable resource again. Sutton Council recycle a large number of items, and you can find out about it here.
Top Tips
1. Get composting. Turning your food waste into compost helps to return important nutrients back to the soil and is better for the environment than landfill. It also eases pressure on waste collection services, helping the Council to reduce its carbon footprint – and save money. Research has showed that around a third of the food we buy goes in the bin.
2. Recycle everything! You can recycle much more than just paper, glass and plastic and Sutton Council is keen for you to give it a go. There is a big A-Z list of what you can and can’t recycle in Sutton here, and a guide for recycling services available here.
3. Charity shops and clothes banks. By giving our unwanted items to charity shops, we help others to find affordable goods and hidden treasures, and also help raise money for charities and our communities at the same time. Click here to find local charity shops.
4. Join Freecycle Sutton. Don’t throw it away – give it away! Join 12,000 other people in Sutton who are using Freecycle to send their old goods to a new home. The Freecycle Network, a non-profit organisation and a movement of people interested in keeping good stuff out of landfills. Click here to visit the Sutton Freecycle Group.
Useful resources
Sutton Council: A Guide to Reduce, reuse, recycle.
Sutton Council: Waste and recycling website pages
Furniture Reuse Network – 10 million items of furniture are thrown away in the UK every year. 3 million of these items could be easily re-used; more could be repaired. The Furniture Re-use Network (FRN) is the national co-ordinating body for 400 furniture and appliance re-use and recycling organisations in the UK that collect a wide range of household items to pass onto people in need.
EcoModo -Ecomodo is an online marketplace that lets you lend and borrow each other’s everyday objects, skills and spaces with confidence.
Love Food Hate Waste – This is a national campaign that raises awareness and helps people and organisations reduce the amount of food waste they produce.
