Eco Matters: New year, new mini bin

After the joys and excesses of Christmas, the black bin is usually bulging, and we are all checking with the neighbours to see which bin will be collected this week. But it doesn’t have to be like this.

Last year our household of four had a switch around in the kitchen.

We decided to make our two large under-counter bins solely for council recycling and soft plastics respectively, and added a small food caddy and a tiny five litre flip top bin for actual rubbish.

We did this because we realised just how much soft plastic was going into our council black bin and felt there must be a better way.

After some quick research on www.recyclenow.com we discovered that almost all soft plastics can be recycled in local supermarkets, and in-store recycling certainly isn’t limited to carrier bags.

Sainsbury’s, for example, includes a list on their ‘About Sainsbury’s Sustainability’ website, all of which can be put in the plastic recycling bins in store, and most other supermarkets will also take a wide range of flexible plastic including crisp packets.

Finally my sneaky bag of ready salted doesn’t feel quite so naughty!

Across Windsor and Maidenhead, the percentage of household waste which is reused, recycled, or composted is 54.5 per cent.

But the leftover is still tonnes of waste (66,414 tonnes per year, to be exact), and improving the quality of our recycling by sorting it properly at home will really help.

Councillor Richard Coe, lead member for environmental services said: “Residents can really help save the planet and save the council money by using their bins correctly.

“The top thing residents can do is to make sure they only put the correct things in the blue recycling bin. Sadly, over-enthusiastic recycling of materials, particularly plastics, which the council can’t recycle can lead to a whole lorry load being rejected.”

So knowing where to recycle soft plastics helps, but even more importantly we’ve decided to stop single use plastic coming into the house wherever we can.

We visit our local fruit and veg stall, Anthony Reynolds Fruiterers, which has been on Maidenhead High Street for over 30 years – great prices and you can take your own carrier bag too.

There are still traditional greengrocers in Berkshire and South Bucks, like ‘The Fruit Market’ in Bourne End, and a farmers market monthly in Windsor.

Plus, a stroll to your local shop or market will also tick of another of those New Year resolutions – or is it just me that always has ‘exercise’ top of my list?

Finally, we now make a monthly visit to our local community-owned zero waste shop Filling Good in Maidenhead to stock up on everything from washing up liquid (smells great) to herbs and spices (cheaper and fresher than the supermarket) and staples like pasta, rice and of course oats for my healthy breakfast (that’s another resolution done right there).

So if you’re still wondering what your new year resolution might be – switch to a mini bin, it’s transformational!

The Eco Matters Column is a community-led project run by local volunteers. Views expressed are the contributor's own. For information or to contribute to the column contact Andrew Ingram on ecomatters.today@gmail.com