Top Tips at Home

Here are a few ways in which you can reduce your waste and save money at the same time:

Food Waste

• Reduce food waste! Did you know we waste, on average, up to £60 worth of good food every month? That’s £720 per year that could be spent on other things! Check out these pages which have lots of info on how you can make the most of your food.
• Avoid wasted BOGOFs: Try to avoid “buy one, get one free” offers unless you are sure you will use what you buy, before it goes off. This will save you money and help lighten your impact on the environment
• Buy Local: try and buy local fruit and veg that’s in season if you can, find out about your local farmers market.
• Make a list! Before you go shopping, write a shopping list and only buy items that you need. This will help so avoid impulse purchases that often get wasted.
• Subscribe to a vegetable box delivery scheme

Plastic

• Refuse: ‘Say No’ to the straw, take reusable cups and bags and refill your water bottles. Avoid heavily packaged items where possible.
• Remember your bags! Opt for cotton reusable instead of single use plastic ones. Devon residents can even order a free reusable bag here.
• Refill your bottles: Avoid bottled water by filling up your own reusable bottle. Businesses in Devon have signed up to the ‘Refill Devon’ scheme and will fill up your water bottle for free! You can find participating locations here.
• Stock up! Where possible, stock up on non perishibles in bulk or larger sizes. This will not only help to cut down on packaging, but will save money too!
• Real Nappies: Use real nappies rather than disposables. You can find out more about the Devon Real Nappy Project here.

More top tips

• Repair: instead of throwing away (even recycling) that broken item, why not have a go at mending it first? Find your nearest repair shop on the Reuse Directory or see if there is a repair cafe happening near you.
• Donate: Unwanted items? Instead of throwing them away, donate them to a charity shop or furniture reuse group. You could even try selling items in good condition on eBay, Gumtree or Preloved!
• Go for quality: A very cheap item may only last you a few months whereas a slightly more expensive, well made one may last a lifetime.
• Say No! to Junk Mail: Cut down on addressed junk mail by registering with the Mailing Preference Service. Cut down on unaddressed junk mail by writing to: Royal Mail, Door to Door, Business Customer Services Team, Kingsmead House, Oxpens Road, Oxford, OX1 1RX or e-mail optout@royalmail.com.
• Use rechargeable batteries

To recycle more of your waste you could:

• Check if you are recycling all the materials that are collected from your home.
• Remember to recycle your glass jars such as jam, marmalade and pasta jars.
• Check the bathroom for items that can be recycled such as as shampoo and shower gel bottles.
• Recycling Banks: Remember you can take glass bottles, paper, cans and clothing to your nearest recycling bank.

These are just a few suggested ways you can help reduce your waste and also your environmental impact. By thinking just a little bit more about our daily lives, we can all reduce our waste relatively easily.

If you have a top tip suggestion of your own that you would like to see shared on our website and social networking sites, send us an email on the contact page.