We can reduce our waste by recycling as much as possible. Take a look through our guidance pages for more detailed ideas and information.
Almost half of our food waste could be composted, so a great way to reduce the amount of food and garden waste is to compost it at home. It saves money and resources and can help to improve your soil and reduce your impact on the environment.
For more information about home composting visit the Recycle Now website
Upcycling is a great way to give furniture a fresh new look, meaning that you don’t have to replace furniture that no longer fits with your décor. Not only are you left with a fancy, good-as-new, piece of furniture for your home, but you can also sit back and know that you’ve just done something good for our planet.
Not sure where to start? Thames hospice studio have a popular workshop for customers looking to have their old furniture and home décor transformed, personalising furniture according to taste using painting, waxing, finishing and stencilling.
For those who want to try it out themselves, there are many information videos on platforms such as YouTube to guide you through the process of creating new and exciting furniture pieces.
It’s not just furniture that can be upcycled. Textile items can be altered and adapted to create new, individual pieces of clothing from items that you may no longer wear but you want to keep. Dyeing fabric a new colour, adding detail via beads or patches and using old jeans to create a new bag are only examples of what you can do with fabric. The options are endless. Dust off that sewing machine and see what new items you can create.