Money & Banking
How to reuse, recycle and save money!
Many of us are becoming increasingly aware of our impact on the planet and consciously looking at ways we can do our bit to help preserve the environment for future generations.
It doesn’t take much of a change in habits to make a difference. The following are a few simple, practical tips to not only get more value out of things but also do the right thing by the environment. And save a few pennies too!
Buying
- Buy products with minimal packaging and recycle packaging where possible.
- Choose the concentrated or refillable form of products like juices and cleaning products.
- Choose durable and reusable items and packaging rather than disposable ones.
- Buy products made from recycled materials and second-hand products.
- Use rechargeable batteries rather than single-use batteries and check with your local council about how to dispose of them properly.
Recycling
- Use a lightweight personal shopping trolley or reusable shopping bags instead of plastic bags. Keep them handy in the boot of your car.
- Reuse your plastic bags and look for products that can be reused many times.
- As well as separating out your glass, paper and plastics, check with your local council or authority to find what and where you can recycle. Just recycling paper and containers reduces waste to landfill by up to 27%. There are also collection programs for electronic waste (i.e. old computers, mobile phones and fridges), chemical waste and car batteries.
- Carry your own water bottle or reuse water bottles.
- Recycle kitchen and garden scraps, which can make up almost 50 percent of garbage, as compost. Then look at getting a compost bin or worm farm and separating composting matter from other rubbish – perfect garden food!
- Hold a garage sale or use online sites like eBay and craigslist to sell stuff.
- Donate unwanted clothing, furniture and white goods to charities.
- Find out if goods can be repaired rather than replaced.
- Get involved in local school and community recycling schemes.
- Use glass bottles and jars, plastic bags, aluminium foil and take away food containers over and over again before recycling or disposing of them.
- Carry lunches in a reusable container rather than disposable wrappings.
Ever little bit counts, and by being more conscious of your shopping and waste habits, you could become the best recycler on your street. And that’s how we can make a real difference to the environment and the future of our kids and grandkids. So start today for a cleaner, healthier tomorrow.