Waste reduction – Page 4 – The Waste Management & Recycling Blog

Eco-friendly alternatives to disposable nappies

If you have recently given birth to a little bundle of joy or are currently parenting a toddler, then you’ll definitely know your way around a nappy by now!

If you are pregnant with a little one on the way, then you may have started researching all the bits and bobs that are part of life with a baby, too.

Nappies account for 2-3 per cent of all household waste in the UK, according to Wrap, and each baby gets through between 4,000 and 6,000 before they are potty trained.

How to create eco-friendly party bags

Planning a party for your child can be a stressful affair at the best of times, so it can be tempting to grab a bunch of whatever you can get your hands on when it comes to the party favours. After all, kids tend to just be excited about the notion of the bag.

However, if you’ve ever taken a moment to think about what you are sending each child home with, your conscience is probably telling you it’s time to take a step back and give more thought to what you are handing out.

How to avoid fast fashion & dress more sustainably

When you go shopping online or on the high street, do you do it because you need new clothes or because you want new clothes?

While buying new clothes may seem innocuous enough, the truth is that fast fashion is highly unsustainable and therefore a bad choice for our planet (and our wallets).

Not only this but some fast fashion is made unethically.

While you may want to wear the very latest fashions, there are many alternative options out there for how to enjoy fashion and style in an eco-friendlier and more ethical way.

We have gathered together some great ideas below for avoiding fast fashion.

Easy ways to live more sustainably in 2020

It’s that time of year when most of us contemplate the year that has just passed and consider the positive changes we can make in our lives during the year ahead.

If one of your new year’s resolutions is to establish a more sustainable lifestyle, then we have gathered together some great tips to get you started on your sustainability journey.

A guide to reusable & eco-friendlier period products

While most of us have been brought up using disposable period products as standard, we are in a climate crisis, it is time to look beyond these options and delve into the world of sustainability.

After all, the average person who experiences periods will get through 11,000 tampons in their lifetime.

If you haven’t explored the world of disposable pad and tampon alternatives yet, read on and find out all about your numerous options — from period underwear to menstrual cups and beyond.

How to enjoy a more sustainable Christmas

As we’ve discussed on the Forge blog before, Christmas is a wasteful time of year where peoples’ usual, eco-conscious behaviour sometimes goes out the window.

I think most of us are guilty of having bought a few last-minute gifts or too much food at this time of year.

However, there are ways to avoid this panic and waste and have a more sustainable Christmas this December.

How to create a capsule wardrobe

Most of us are guilty of a wardrobe full of clothes we never wear — whether that’s because they’re no longer the right size, they’re out of fashion, or they were an impulse buy we’ve never worn.

This wardrobe-stuffing has been encouraged by fast fashion, which has enabled people to buy endless items of clothing without breaking the bank or giving each purchase much thought.

With so many clothes to choose from, many of us struggle to decide what to wear each day — and a surprising number of us end up reaching for the same pieces daily, to avoid the decision.

This situation could be avoided with the implementation of a capsule wardrobe.

With such busy lives and many of us wishing to move over to more sustainable ways of living, a capsule wardrobe could make life simpler and eco-friendlier for everyone.

How to recycle summer’s pool inflatables

Sunny summer days are synonymous with splashing around in a cooling swimming pool and hanging out at the beach.

So, what do we take with us for these excursions? Towels, swimming costumes, sun lotion, and inflatables, of course.

This blog post takes a look at the recycling of inflatables.

How to avoid single-use coffee cups

Single-use coffee cups have featured in the news a lot over the past few years, primarily due to the fact that they are difficult to recycle and the UK gets through 2.5 billion of them per year.

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall brought ‘disposable’ cups to the public eye on his War on Waste programme back in March 2016, and there’s been much public discussion ever since.

Coffee fans the country over have been caught up in the discussion over the takeaway cups used to house their beloved flat white or frothy cappuccino.

How to reduce your business’s plastic waste & save money

Plastic is a real buzzword at the moment and rightly so — it is polluting our planet, killing wildlife, and contaminating our seas. In fact, approximately 8 million pieces of plastic pollution find their way into our oceans daily.

Many of us are trying to cut down on single-use plastic at home, but businesses need to look at their use too. After all, a business will use much more plastic than an individual will, and it will be costing lots of money in waste collections too. Not only that, but addressing plastic waste issues will enhance your brand’s reputation and help you to attract eco-friendly customers. There’s literally nothing to lose — except the plastic.

Continue reading How to reduce your business’s plastic waste & save money