Recycling at home

Ideas to reduce your waste

• Buy in bulk where possible including toilet rolls, big bags of flour, tea, coffee etc.
• Avoid buying items with excessive packaging (avoid individually wrapped biscuits/sweets, buy refills)
• Take a bag to the shop so you do not need a plastic carrier (most supermarkets have reusable plastic bags you can buy, or better still take a cloth one) and tell shop staff you do not need a bag for small things you can either carry in your hand or put in another bag.
• Reuse old jars; wine bottles make good candleholders.
• Remember charity shops will take clothes, books, toys, furniture, cutlery and much more. Arrange a 'clothes swap' with your friends: everyone chooses the clothes they want before you take the rest to a charity shop!
• Think about advertising in a free paper before you throw away furniture, or kitchen and bathroom appliances that are in good condition.
• Get milk delivered to your house. Did you know a milk bottle could be reused up to 25 times!
• Stop junk mail and faxes by contacting the Direct Marketing Association. Simply register on the Mailing Preference Service website and your address will be withdrawn from all lists.
• Avoid disposable items like razors, tights, pens and nappies and get reusable ones instead.

Recycling in the kitchen

• When you use any fresh vegetables in your cooking put any unwanted leaves and stalks into a compost bin or wormery. They will make an excellent compost or liquid for your plants and garden. Telephone us on 01752 304787, download our home composting leaflet from the documents table or email us for further information and to order a bin.
• Cardboard, such as cereal and egg boxes, can be recycled by either putting it in your green bin/box or by composting. Putting cardboard in a compost heap or bin is a good idea as it helps to absorb the moisture. This is especially useful if you are collecting a lot of grass cuttings that rot very quickly.
• Empty cans, whether from food or drink, can also be put in your green bin/box and don't worry if you have decided to treat yourself to a takeaway, the aluminium foil containers can also be recycled. However please make sure they are washed and clean.
• Whether a nice cup of tea or coffee wakes you up in the morning or relaxes you when watching the television at night, remember that the local diary can reuse milk bottles up to 25 times. If you buy your milk in a plastic bottle this can go into your green bin/box, along with any other plastic bottles such as shampoo and washing up liquid, but remember to remove the screw tops from the bottles first.
• Although glass cannot be collected in your green bin/box, we provide over 45 bottle banks across the city to collect your empty glass containers, whether they're empty jam jars, empty sauce bottles, or just your empties in general! Visit our recycling banks page for more information.
• Paper is another excellent material which can be recycled. So remember to keep your newspapers, magazines and even any letters sent to you and put them in your green bin/box. Or alternatively you can take any old magazines to your local doctors surgery.

Recycle your furniture

Television DIY shows such as 'Changing Rooms' have given us great inspiration and shown us how yesterday's junk can be turned into today's showpiece, so think about how you can adapt that table, chair, or dresser before sending it to the civic amenity site. However if the idea of reinventing old furniture doesn't appeal to you and you would like to get rid of it remember there are a number of charity shops across the city that would be very happy to take it off your hands!

Documents

To view these documents you might need to download some software. Visit our downloads page for more information.

	Home recycling scheme leaflet - a list of all items included in the home recycling scheme and a list of all bring banks in Plymouth. File format Adobe Acrobat (pdf) - 219KB
	Recycling collections calendar - recycling and refuse collections calendar for 2007 to 2008. File format Adobe Acrobat (pdf) - 339KB
	Home composting leaflet - leaflet containing information on composting and buying a discounted compost bin. File format Adobe Acrobat (pdf) - 884KB

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