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150 million plastic carrier bags get used in the UK each week – a staggering fact in itself. But did you also realise that your plastic bag can take up to 500 years to decay in landfill ?
So, the next time you’re out shopping and at the check-out, why not say ‘No’ to another plastic bag to add to the mountain of old ones you’ve already got stashed away and liberate your kitchen drawers to make space for really important and useful stuff – you’ll have more space in your kitchen than you thought!
As a better alternative, why not use a canvas shopping bag or basket? They won’t split on you or dig into your hands when the going gets really heavy. And many supermarkets such as Asda, Safeway, Sainsbury’s and Tesco all offer bags for life which means that you don’t ever need to pick up another plastic carrier bag again !
Some supermarkets such as Safeway and Tesco also offer take back schemes for your plastic bags which are then recycled into new products such as park benches.
Buying your fruit and veg without any clothes on is a liberating way to cut down on the amount of rubbish we produce – and they taste better too !
Much of our fresh fruit and veg comes pre packed, which means more rubbish in our dustbin. But choosing to buy fruit and veg loose rather than pre packed can make a big difference to the amount of rubbish you put in your bin. Afterall, why settle for second best when you can choose the fruit and veg you like best?
To get that feel-good factor while you shop, you can help the environment and your wallet by rethinking the following things:
Buy it, recycle it, buy recycled
What happens to your rubbish after it’s been recycled? For recycling to work properly, it has to be made into new products and we have to buy them. Lots of everyday products contain recycled glass and plastics, for instance, which helps reduce our use of raw materials. This too is good for the environment, as in many cases, it takes less energy to recycle something, than to start from scratch with raw materials.
Don’t believe us? Well, did you know that:
- 25 plastic bottles can be recycled to make a fashionable fleece top
- A vending cup can be made into a pencil or a pen
- Steel cans containing anything from baked beans to fruit cocktail, from pet food to soup are used to make new cars and bridges
- Empty glass bottles and jars can be recycled to make not only new glass jars and bottles, but other exciting things such as decorative paving.
- Recycled paper can become new newspapers and magazines, as well as paper packaging
- Plastic bags can be recycled into garden furniture, decking and fencing.
An empty aluminium drink can may be recycled again and again. And because your aluminium empties are worth money, why not save them for recycling and cash them in?
Or have a look for yourself. The Recycled Products Guide, available from Wasteline (0870 243 0136), gives details of a whole host of recycled goods, or alternatively visit the Buy Recycled website at
www.recycledproducts.org.uk.
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