Reduce the amount of waste you produce

The best way to reduce the amount of waste going into landfill sites is to cut down on the waste we all produce in the first place.

You can have a bit of an impact by doing just a little:

Avoid products with too much packaging

Many products are over-packaged. This packaging is often plastic that we cannot recycle. And it's often just to make the product look more attractive. You can buy lots of items with far less packaging, for example:

• buy fruit and vegetables loose
• shop at your local butcher.

Use your own shopping bag

This cuts the need for plastic bags. You can also:

• take old plastic bags with you when you go shopping
• buy a reusable bag - it'll hold more shopping and last longer.

Reduce unwanted mail

It's estimated every household receives up to 18 items of unwanted mail every week. Find out how to reduce the amount of unwanted mail you receive.

Save on batteries

Many products don't need batteries, such as wind-up radios, torches and solar-powered garden lights. These are cheaper to run and more environmentally friendly.

Compost at home

Turning some kinds of garden and household waste into compost you can use on your garden isn't hard - and it's very cheap!

Find out more about home-composting.