Bristol Waste is your local recycling, waste collection and street cleansing company. They are committed to working in partnership with the people of Bristol to help all communities recycle more, throw away less and waste nothing.
Bristol Waste Blog:
Reduce, reuse, recycle is just the start of your waste nothing journey
Hi, it’s Kathy here from Bristol Waste. We’re excited to team up with Children's Scrapstore to talk about using things more than once and throwing away less stuff.
I also want to tell you about our Waste Nothing Challenge. It's a 30-day email adventure that helps you throw away less - and probably save some money too!
Steps to throwing away less
Have you heard about the "waste hierarchy”? Refuse, reduce, reuse, repair, rot, recycle, and disposal. These steps show us the best ways to handle waste – from the really good to the not-so-good. Here's what each step of the hierarchy means:
Refuse: say no to things you don't need, like a plastic bag for your shopping.
Reduce: ask yourself if you really need something before you buy it.
Reuse: before you throw something away, can it be used again?
Repair: if something is broken, see if it can be fixed.
Rot: can the thing you need to throw away be composted, like food or garden waste?
Recycle: before throwing something away, check if it can be recycled.
Disposal: only throw things away if you can't do any of the other steps.
Buying less new stuff
Just like we have steps for throwing away less, we also have steps for buying less new stuff. Here at Bristol Waste, we call it the "buyer-archy":
use what you have
borrow
swap
buy from second-hand stores
make it yourself
buy new
Next time you need something, try to reuse, borrow, or make something before buying new!
The power of reuse
One of our favourite steps is reuse. Why is reuse so great? Well, making new items requires raw materials, water, carbon and energy. But when you reuse something, you don’t need to extract anything else from the earth. You also give that item a new life, which means one less thing in the bin.
And guess what? Reusing is easy in Bristol! As well as great projects like the Children’s Scrapstore, Bristol’s recycling centres have their own Reuse Shops. Here, you can pick up things that are still in great condition but nearly went in the bin! There's lots of cool stuff (including props from film sets) and the prices are low. So next time you need something, why not pop in and give a preloved item a new home?
Understanding what you throw away
Deciding to reduce your waste can be a bit daunting at first. To help you get started, think about what you usually throw away. You might find it helpful to write a list. Are there things you could reduce or recycle instead? Knowing what you throw away helps you break down your waste nothing journey into smaller steps.
Our Waste Nothing Challenge is here to help you do just that. You'll get a daily email from me for 30 days with a simple idea or action to help you waste less. Each week focuses on a different room in the house, so you’ll start to see changes quickly.
And, if you sign up and complete the challenge before January 2024, you could win a £100 Yuup voucher to spend on Bristol experiences!
Sign up today: bristolwastecompany.co.uk/waste-nothing-challenge