Reduce and reuse waste

How can I reduce my household waste?

• Get rid of unwanted advertising or promotional materials - find out how to stop junk mail.  
  
• Think before you shop - you can stop the waste coming into your home, for example, you could buy rechargeable batteries or items with less packaging. You can also use real crockery for parties instead of disposable ones. 
  
• Waste less food - only buy what you need and check what date labels mean on food before you throw it away. Learn how to avoid food waste.   
  
• Use real nappies - disposable ones create a lot of waste. Find out more on the Go Real - The Real Nappy Information Service website, The Nappy Lady website or the Twinkle Twinkle website.  
• Save water - this is not only good for the environment but it saves you money too. Check out our top tips on saving water at home.

Don’t forget to check what you can put in your blue and brown bins before putting any waste your green bin.

How can I reduce food waste?

• Plan your meals and make a shopping list - by knowing what you need when you go to the supermarket, you are less likely to buy extra items which you may later throw away.
• Store food correctly - check the food labels and make sure you put food in fridges and freezers if you are not going to use them straight away.
• Reduce portion sizes - check packets or recipes for recommended portions and only prepare what you need. The Eatwell Guide on the NHS Choices website shows how much of what we eat overall should come from each food group to achieve a healthy, balanced diet.
• Use up leftovers - create another meal with any leftovers, visit the Love Food Hate Waste website for leftover food recipes.
• Freeze sauces - use ice cube trays to freeze leftover sauces – items such as tomato puree, creamed coconut and pesto can be frozen and added to your cooking at a later date.
• Know what food date labels mean - by understanding food date labels you won’t throw something away that you don’t need to. Find out more on the Food Standards Agency website
• Download the ‘Love Food Hate Waste’ app - available for iPhone which helps you plan your food, shop to your food budget and has recipes so you can make the most of your leftovers. 

Don’t forget to use your kitchen caddy and brown bin for food waste.

How much food waste is thrown away in East Riding of Yorkshire?

How can I reuse my household waste?

• Get things repaired - sometimes it’s much cheaper to repair items such as your washing machine than to buy a new one. Find a local repairer.
  
• Donate items - use our repair and reuse directory to find out where you can donate your unwanted items.
  
• Advertise - list your items on an online community, such as on the Freecycle website or the Freegle website. All items are usually listed free of charge and collected by the recipient. You could also sell them on an online auction site.
  
• Get crafty - think about how you can repurpose old items to make new ones, such as turning an old favourite t-shirt into a cushion cover or making a robot with old food packaging. There are plenty of websites with recycled craft ideas for both adults and children.
  
• Compost at home - buy a home composter and turn garden and food waste and some household items into compost for your garden.

How can I stop junk mail?

You can be removed from up to 95 percent of direct mailing lists by registering on the MPS (Mail Preference Service) Online website.

You can visit the Royal Mail website to find out how to opt-out of receiving any leaflets or unaddressed promotional material.

More information about stopping junk mail is available on the Citizens Advice website.

How can I avoid junk mail?

How can I save water?

• Turn off the tap when brushing your teeth - a running tap uses over six litres every minute.
• Reduce your time in the shower - use a timer to keep track.
• Fill up your dishwasher - make sure your dishwasher is full before you turn it on, and experiment with the different settings as many modern machines offer ‘eco’ settings that use less water and energy.
• Don’t throw away drinking water - use it to water your plants.
• Only fill a kettle with what you need - this not only saves water but takes less time to boil so you’ll save on electricity too.
• Buy a water butt - use rainwater in your garden rather than water from the outdoor tap. Visit the East Riding Get Composting website or call 0845 130 6090 to buy up to two water butts at a reduced price. You can also purchase water butts through the Yorkshire Water website, and most homeware stores and garden centres. 

For more tips, visit the Waterwise website.

How can I recycle old quilts, pillows and sleeping bags?

Clothes, shoes and bedding can't be recycled in your blue recycling bin at home. Please donate these to local charities or take to your local Household Waste Recycling Site.

 Pillows cannot be recycled and would need to be put in the general waste skip at your local Household Waste Recycling site

 Some textile banks do take quilts, so check with the textile bank charity (this is often stated on the bank itself). Please do not place quilts, pillows and sleeping bags in bring banks without checking first.

Local charities, such as Hull Help for Refugees:

Hull Help for Refugees website

Tel: 07931 356451

will take sleeping bags and Hull Animal Welfare (based at South Cave):

Hull Animal Welfare website

Tel: 01430 423986 from 11am-2pm 

will take quilts for animal winter bedding.  

Can I donate or buy reuse electrical items?

Electrical items which may be suitable for reuse can be taken to your nearest Household Waste Recycling Site (HWRS) and placed in the reuse container. 

As part of a joint project with Dove House Hospice, the following items may be collected free of charge: 

• fridges 
• freezers
• combined fridge/freezers 
• washing machines
• tumble dryers 
• dishwashers
• electric cookers and ovens 
• microwave ovens.

All appliances MUST be in good working order order, suitable for resale and pass an electrical safety test (PAT test) when they collect them.

All items which have passed the electrical and functionality tests, are available for sale with all donations going to Dove House Hospice. 

For more information about donating your unwanted electricals, arranging a collection, or purchasing an item, please contact:

The Reuse Electricals Shop
254 Marfleet Lane
Hull

Phone 01482 710284 or email electricals@dovehouse.org.uk