Recycling tips

halloweenqueen_2

Banana skins are excellent for recycling. Tea bags or used tea leaves as well.

savvy

I take my carrier bags to my local greengrocer who then uses them for his customers..........................course what they do with them........... I wouldn't know :-/

mink35

DO NOT compost:
pet faeces and litter,

You can put rabbit droppings and 'green' rabbit bedding (straw/hay) into a compost bin as rabbits are veggies!

halloweenqueen_2

We've always composted rabbit and guinea pig poo and used straw.

justevi

If anyone has toddlers still in nappies who have trousers that have become to short, keep em til next summer when they are out of nappies. They now fit around the bum again so if you chop the legs off they make great shorts! ;-)

ssherlock

Dont put potato peelings in or you'll get potatoes trying to grow all over your garden.

Useable compost should be composted for at least 6 months. You will NOT get potatoes growing in your garden from peelings but could from the odd whole potato (but not after 6 months!).

For those without a decent garden or room you could try: http://www.livingsoil.co.uk/products/EM_kyusei_supplies.html
These ferment ALL kitchen scraps (including cooked foods which should NEVER be put in a composter or they attract rats, foxes etc). They are also sealed containers and claim to work in 2 weeks (compost can take 12-18 months and a wormery 3-6 months to get good compost). They also cut down on the fruit flies, slugs etc that other composting (including wormery) WILL attract. The result can just be dug into your borders/added to your worm bin.

If you do decide to get a wormery get the Can-O-Worms from http://www.wigglywigglers.co.uk/ because it is easy to empty - the wheely bin style wormeries are cheaper but imagine trying to empty/clean a large container full of heavy compost/half eaten food and a couple of thousand worms! The C-O-Worms is segmented so when the top segment is full you can empty the bottom (the worms move up to the new food so the bottom should be fairly empty of everything except compost). Makes the job a lot cleaner and means less handling of the worms.

janebrain

some local councils organise swapping/giveaway services as part of their recycling effort.
Worth a look to see if your local area does it too.
If not you can suggest it to them!
These are my local ones, for those near enough to join in.

https://www.croydononline.org/giveaway

http://www.swapitsurrey.org/

Lucie_2

I have a Lancashire freebie compost bin & they send out newsletters every few months with hints & tips on what to put in your compost bin.

They recommend emptying a toddler's potty into your compost bin.
I always put my rabbit hutch emptyings into the compost bin, along with egg shells, loo roll inners, tea bags, vegetable peelings etc

We also have a garden waste bin provided by the coucil for grass cuttings, weeds etc. It is collected every other week in the summer, alternated with the "normal" rubbish bin. Glass, plastic, tins & paper are collected weekly too. My carrier bags go to the greengrocer for him to re-use & I bring all my waste paper home from work to put in the recycling bag too.

Big_Nige

My local council has a three wheelie bin system.... Blue bin for recycling paper cardboard tins (steel/aluminium) milk containers & other soft plastics etc, green bin for general waste, a brown bin for garden waste (grass etc)& a black box for glass. The green bin is emptied once a fortnight & the brown & blue (along with the black box) are alternated on the middle week. It has been a great success & from a personal side I have gone from using 5 bin bags a week to about 2 a fortnight now. So saves the environment & save your money. Badger your local council & maybe they can introduce something similar.... might even get a reduction in council tax 8)

tiff

Hmm Bristol City Council need to get their act together judging by this lot.