Top tips to help you Reduce, Re-use and Recycle.

Recycling processes are generally carried out by commercial or governmental organisations; however, the entire process starts with you. Besides recycling, you can help protect the environment by reducing and re-using. The following tips might help you.

REDUCE

Change your perspective. Before you buy or agree to sign-up for anything, consider reducing your consumption and the impact your decision will have on the environment.

At home

	Stop junk mail being delivered to you by writing to the Mailing Preference Service, Freepost 29, LON20771, London, 1E 0ZT or phone 020 7291 3310, or e-mail www.dma.org.uk
	Sign-up to emailed newsletters and downloadable information instead of selecting printed material
	Do not unwittingly sign up for unsolicited mail when completing surveys or questionnaires
	Whenever practical, buy family sized products to cut down on packaging you have to recycle or throw away
	Only buy what you need
	Consider the effect of sell-by dates
	Buy concentrated and refillable products
	Consider using a multi-purpose cleaner
	Buy products loose – remember you pay for the packaging
	Think durability – buy rechargeable batteries; refillable ink cartridges and re-useable cloths instead of disposable paper tissues
	Hire equipment you use infrequently
	Buy recycled goods if you can
	Use cotton nappies rather than disposables – they are much better for your baby and the environment

At work and school

	Share reports, handouts, journals, and other publications
	Make more use of notice boards and shared information
	Use the phone or e-mails instead of writing letters
	Only photocopy when necessary and use the double sided facility
	Avoid wasting materials like paper – use only what you need
	Choose refillable and recycled items
	Write on both sides of a piece of paper and use scrap for drafts

At the shops

	Consider durability and repairability when you’re buying something
	Avoid buying single use items like disposable nappies, plastic cutlery and cameras wherever possible
	Buy products that can be refilled
	Use your own carrier bags, either plastic or fabric
	Use re-usable rigid plastic boxes with handles for loading goods when shopping

Around the house

	Re-use plastic bags as bin liners
	Re-use margarine tubs and other strong containers for packed lunch boxes, for storing nails or buttons or the contents of half opened tins for freezing
	Pack school lunches in a reusable lunch box instead of using plastic bags
	Fill a flask with your favourite drink each morning instead of buying cans or cartons
	Give school uniforms that don’t fit any more to friends or to your local charity shop
	Avoid using cling film and aluminium foil to wrap food – use boxes with lids instead
	Re-use glass jars and margarine tubs for storing household items
	Swap magazines with friends or take them to doctors surgeries
	Take unwanted clothes, shoes, books, and spectacles to charity shops or have a stall at a local car boot sale
	At work and school
	Write on both sides of a sheet of paper
	Use pencils or refillable fountain or ball point pens
	Use paper as scrap before recycling
	Pack your lunch and drink in a reusable lunch box and flask

In the garden

	Compost your garden and green waste
	Empty, cut down mineral water bottles can be used as mini green houses for your young plants
	Old carpet or cardboard can be used to insulate compost heaps or places on the ground to clear areas of weeds
	Old wood and pallets can be used to build compost bins
	Cracked and broken crockery can be smashed and used for drainage crocks in plant pots
	Use yoghurt pots for planting seedlings
	Avoid throw away barbeques
	Metal coat hangers can be used to pin down plastic covers