Recycling Involvement

OPH Good Housekeeping

Recycling involvement can be conducted in a number of ways. What we'll do here is let you know how you can get into the recycling groove.

We'll give you tips and advice on such topics as turning your household food waste into compost as well as how your local council can help..

Local Council

1) Many local councils have recycling collection programmes, and will collect items you want recycling from outside your home.

If you do not currently have a council provided recycling box, it may be an idea to give them a call, to see if you are eligible for one.

2) When you have found out if your local council runs a recycling programme, find out what items they recycle, as different councils recycle different items. Some of the items which are recycled include; paper, plastics, tins and cans, and glass. So find out and start the process.

3) Now that you have found out what items your council recycles, it is then time to sort out the different items. From a personal point of view, when you have finished with the item which is to be recycled, wash it out in soapy water and place it into an individual box or bag. I do this so I don't get the different materials mixed up say, mixing glass with aluminium.

Tip Try and get the rest of your household involved in recycling items. Like anything, once you get into the process it almost becomes like a learnt habit.

4) Once all the above steps have been covered, find out from your local council what days they pick up the recyclable items. Some councils issue stickers with all the days they pick up your rubbish highlighted on it. Why not ask them if they issue similar stickers. If they do, when you receive it stick it up as a reminder of their pick up days.

5) If your local council doesn't run a recycling scheme, why don't you try and incorporate it into your weekly shop?

During the week collect all the items you want to recycle, when you go shopping take all the items with you and put them in the large recycling bins which most supermarkets provide. If you build this into your shopping trips them it will become second nature.

Make Compost

Recycling involvement...

Why not put your household food wastage to good use, by using it to make compost for your garden?

This form of recycling involvement can be very rewarding. If you are interested in doing this, the first thing you need to do is purchase a compost bin. These can be purchased for relatively little cost from any reputable garden centre or DIY store.

Once you have your bin it is best to place it on a level surface where any excess water can drain easily away from it and different creaturea such as worms can gain easy access to it.

The items you put into your compost bin should materials which rot quickly, these include fruit, vegetable peelings, teabags, and even cardboard. Really anything that rots can be turned into compost.

Items which should not be placed into your compost bin include; cooked vegetables, meat, animal wastage, or dairy products as these can attract unwanted guests, not mention the odor they'll, give off. Additionally items which do not rot shouldn't be put in there, these include glass, plastic and metal.

After a few months your bin should start to produce great compost, it is dark brown and has a spongy composition. If your bin has a hatch just open it and extract the compost, if it doesn't most bins are easily tipped over so just tip it over and get the compost out that way.

Congratulations you've just made your own compost, now you can put it into your flower beds of your garden and start growing beautiful flowers

If you need any tips on how to get the best out of your garden click here

OPH Good Housekeeping

From Recycling involvement, to recycling tips
Recycling benefits
Carbon offsets explained
Home ecosystems
Gardening Tips
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