Sustainable development - waste prevention
Composting at home and using reusable, rather than disposable nappies are two easy ways that we can prevent waste from being created. These actions will also reduce the amount of waste being sent to landfill.
Home compostingComposting at home using a bin or heap can slim your household bin by a third and you get free compost! To produce compost, a mix of greens and browns is required. Greens are nitrogen rich materials, providing your compost bin with moisture. Browns are slower to rot down, but provide fibre and carbon to the mixture as well as air pockets. Good compost needs a 50/50 mix of greens and browns. The range of greens and browns that can go in your compost bin are listed below. | Greens | Browns | | tea bags | egg shells and egg boxes | | grass cuttings | cereal boxes | | vegetable peelings | corrugated cardboard packaging | | old flowers | scrunched up paper and shredded documents | | fruit scraps | toilet and kitchen roll tubes | | nettles | garden pruning's | | coffee grounds and filter paper | dry leaves, twigs and hedge clippings | | spent bedding plants | straw and hay | | comfrey leaves | bedding from vegetarian pets | | rhubarb leaves | wool and feathers | | young annual weeds | ashes from wood, paper or lumpwood charcoal | | pond algae and seaweed | cotton threads and natural fibre string | | tumble dryer lint | | vacuum bag contents | | tissues, paper towels and napkins |
Food waste digesters
Food waste digesters are able to deal with both cooked and uncooked food waste, and remove food waste from your bin. The four main food waste digesters are green cones, green johannas, wormeries and bokashi bins. To find out more on how food waste digesters work and the range of food waste that they can deal with, visit the waste partnership website. Reusable nappiesReusable nappies are made from breathable materials, such as cotton or hemp, and are absorbent and kind to delicate skin as they don't contain the chemicals or gels found in disposable nappies. Types of reusable nappiesThere are four main types of reusable nappies available: - Flat nappies are sheets of material which need to be folded before put onto baby. They are then secured with a nappy nippa or safety pin;
- Shaped nappies are sized, and usually fasten with Velcro or poppers. A waterproof cover is required;
- Stuffable nappies have a piece of absorbent material which is stuffed into the nappy between the cover and inner material; and
- All in ones are a complete nappy system with cover and adsorbent inner material all attached.
For more information on the different types of reusable nappies, visit the waste partnership website. Benefits of reusable nappies - A baby goes through about 4,000 to 6,000 nappies in its life. By using reusable nappies, families could save up to £300 compared to buying the same amount of disposables;
- Using real nappies helps reduce the amount of waste we create. Currently in the UK over 8 million disposable nappies are thrown away, which go to landfill where they can take hundreds of years to rot away;
- Real nappies are soft, breathable, naturally absorbent and contain no chemicals or gels like disposables and are therefore kind to baby's skin; and
- Contrary to what most people think, real nappies don't require any boiling or soaking. A 60oC wash in a normal machine is all that is needed to get nappies clean and keep them hygienic.
Sustainable development - waste prevention - frequently asked questions
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