in focus
doing your bit We all know that there is much we need to do to help our environment. This is a new journey for me, but I realise anything we can do, even if it is one small change, is a positive change. Being honest I am still not there, but I am acutely aware of the need to do more, and as a family, we are trying hard to make simple changes that we hope are effective.
RECYCLING
The first thing I looked at was household recycling – how were we doing with it? I knew that I had always done a quick bin check to hook out any cardboard and tins that the family may have inadvertently binned, but what else was I missing, or doing wrong? I am still learning, but the first three things I learned were: Fruit punnets: I used to put fruit and mushroom punnets in the recycling, but as they are usually made of a combination of plastics, and are often non-recyclable. Cleaning your jars: I knew to rinse milk cartons, tins, jars and bottles but I didn’t realise not doing so could end up sending all the collected recycling to landfill. 6
Wrapping paper: I always put wrapping paper into the recycling bin, but much of it is plasticised, has glitter or metallic and cannot be recycled. (Same for greeting cards). Unlaminated paperbased wrapping paper and pre-recycled wrapping paper are usually recyclable. A good way to test is try to scrunch up the paper into a ball. If it scrunches, and stays scrunched, it can probably be recycled. Cardboard and paper: Plastic tape cannot be recycled so remove from cardboard boxes first. Similarly, the windows in paper envelopes need to removed and placed in general waste before recycling the paper. If it’s smaller than a post-it note it can’t be recycled - plastic caps needn’t be removed from the bottle before recycling. Whilst soap dispensers belong in the recycling, the tops don’t.
