Reducing your waste

How can I reduce my waste?

Reducing and re-using your waste should come before recycling. There are many ways to cut down on the waste we produce:

• Use real nappies - see below for details
• Smart shopping - choose goods with less packaging, use refills, avoid disposable items, avoid plastic carrier bags
• Stop unwanted junk mail - see below for details
• Compost kitchen and garden waste - see our composting page for advice
• Borrow/hire or repair goods rather than buying new ones

How can I re-use my waste?

Re-using means there is no additional energy consumption or need for raw materials. Opportunities to re-use goods include:

• donating unwanted goods to charity shops or put clothes in your red textile sack for collection
• buying second-hand goods where appropriate
• using rechargeable batteries where possible
• reusing old jars and containers for storage
• reusing carrier bags and using supermarket 'bag for life' schemes

How do I stop junk mail?

If you want to cut down the amount of junk mail you get then you can visit the Mailing Preference Service website where you can register your details.

The service is free and will reduce your junk mail by 95%. The service will take four months before it is fully effective but you will start to see a reduction straight away.

Why should I consider using real nappies?

In Oxfordshire 100,000 disposable nappies are binned everyday which is 5% of all household rubbish.

By using real nappies you could save as much as £600 for your first baby and even more for your second.

Real nappies come with a disposable liner so are easy to use and wash. You can wash them yourself or there are laundering services available.

For more detailed information and advice please see the contacts below:

Page last reviewed 27 Aug 2008