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Tips on how to reduce & reuse in Colchester

If you are burning to do your bit for the environment and go the extra mile, then you’ll love our reduce and reuse tips. Remember, there’s so much more to recycling and reusing materials than simply depositing them in the correct colour wheelie bin. You can use your imagination and creativity to bring about a cleaner, greener future for everyone.

• Avoid disposable goods
  This comes under both the reduce and reuse categories, as avoiding single-use items such as disposable cutlery, pens and razors will significantly improve your carbon footprint. Instead buy reusable versions of these items and collectively we’ll begin to see drops in plastic usage worldwide.

• Purchase products made from recycled material
  The recycled symbol can be found on many items and means that it has either been made with recycled material or can be recycled itself.

• Use resealable containers instead of plastic wrap
  Why’s a cucumber shrink wrapped? Because it lasts longer in the shop that way. But if you then want to use that cucumber on a sandwich, don’t wrap it in plastic wrap. Instead use resealable lunch boxes again and again to save on unnecessary plastic waste.

• Donate old clothes and furniture to charity
  It’s a well known eco-friendly alternative to give clothes to charity that you are no longer using. A more recent development is donating furniture to large charity-run furniture shops like those run by the British Heart Foundation.

• Use reusable coffee cups and personal water bottles
  Not only will you get a buzz from helping to save the planet’s resources when using a refillable cup – you may also save money. Large coffee chains and some independents have started offering discounts to customers who bring their own refillable cup. Over time those savings add up!

• Use recycled copier paper
  If it costs a few pennies extra, that’s because recovering recycled paper is an intensive process. But is it worth it? You bet it is.

• Buy products in bulk
  This is an old method of saving money, especially when purchasing non-perishables like toilet paper, toothpaste, canned goods and cereals. What’s more, you’ll be reducing the overall amount of packaging that you use, too.

• Avoid over-packaged goods
  You know exactly what we’re talking about. Fist-sized easter eggs packed in shoebox-sized packs, bananas in plastic bags – as though a banana’s naturally thick skin isn’t enough? Buy an alternative product where the producer has clearly thought about the environment.

• Encourage others to buy products that are made from recycled materials
  There’s no need to lecture and bash people about the ears boasting about your good habits. It can be as easy as asking a friend if they’ve heard about a product you use and why you use it. You’ll be surprised how interested people are in metal straws and bamboo toothbrushes.

• Use dishcloths and fabric napkins instead of paper equivalents
  They can be reused again and again. Make the investment and never look back.

• Always use two-sided copies when using the printer
  Go into the default settings for your printer and choose to use two-sided printing every time. On the rare occasion you need one-sided, simply uncheck the box.

• Ask your workplace to adopt eco-friendly habits
  Remember the reusable dishcloths and recycled copier paper? This applies to offices, too. Your bosses are probably very interested in ways to reduce the company’s carbon footprint. Make the suggestion today!

• Buy durable goods
  Many cheap items are a false economy when you consider how long they will last or how often replacements will be needed. If instead you pay twice as much but the product lasts three times longer, then this is an investment worth taking. It’s true also of products that come with decent warranties.

• Reuse items in imaginative and unexpected ways
  Old tyres make great planters and can be painted to match your garden furniture. Egg cartons are ideal for planting seedlings in and can be put straight into the ground ready to degrade and serve as food for the growing plant. Melt and remold soaps, crayons and other waxy goods to get every penny’s worth out of your shopping. Washing machine drums make remarkably good fire braziers. The list is endless…

• Repair broken items
  Use your own initiative and repair a broken item or take it to a local repair workshop and learn to do it yourself. There are a few repair meets up and down the country that are dedicated to helping you repair any household item. What better way is there to save money and the environment?

 

CSH Environmental is a comprehensive skip hire and waste management specialist and much more besides. The service we provide to the people and businesses of East Anglia helps to pave the way for a cleaner, greener future. At our recycling centre, expert techs work to recycle over 99% of all waste we receive. That means far less rubber, plastic and hazardous materials going to landfill. For everything from bag collections to roll-on, roll-off skip hire and even asbestos disposal, call CSH environmental today. We’ve been keeping East Anglia green since 1981.

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