WELCOME TO...................WHAT A WASTE!
Waste is wasteful. It wastes money, it wastes resources and it wastes space. It
wastes money because all the manufactured “stuff” we throw away is made of
materials that cost something – including the packaging they come in. It wastes
money because every time we throw something away, it costs money to collect it
and recycle it or bury it in landfill. The resources we make “stuff” from are finite and
going to be increasingly expensive as such resources become less available. And
the landfill space our waste “stuff” takes up is also finite. In the South West, we only
have about 7 years of identified landfill space left, at our current rate of wastage.
What a waste!
SOME BIG FACTS ABOUT WASTE
The bad news........

In 2009/10 we produced nearly 260,000 tonnes of household waste in
Somerset – the same as the weight of around17,000 double decker buses.

Landfill costs in Somerset are now over £68 per tonne.

About a third of all food waste is simply good food thrown away because of
over-buying or not using up left-overs. This costs the average family £420 a
year.

Because of biodegradable waste such as food, landfill sites produce a quarter
of the UK’s emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas 23 times more potent
than carbon dioxide.

On average, parents spend £700 on 6,000 disposable nappies over the 30
months that babies wear nappies. In Somerset, 3,900 tonnes of nappy waste
is sent to landfill annually – that’s another 260 double decker buses in weight
(or 455 by volume........)

The energy needed to manufacture a battery is on average 50 times greater
than the energy it gives out, yet we throw away 20,000-30,000 tonnes of the
things every year in the UK.
But here is the good news......

In 2008/09, us folks in Somerset reused and recycled 128,044 tonnes of
waste (about 9,000 double deckers in weight) which saved an estimated
106,000 tonnes of carbon.

This was the same as 29,367 cars off the road for a year.

Contrary to popular belief, 89% of this was recycled in the UK, with only 11%
sent overseas for recycling.

With over 70% of Somerset’s waste being successfully recycled, that makes
us one of the best counties in the UK for recycling.

If we all stop wasting food that could have been eaten, the CO2 impact would
be the equivalent of taking 1 in 4 cars off the road.

However, if we really have to throw some away, in Somerset it is composted
and used by local farms, helping the local economy. Some is also processed
to produce environmentally friendly biogas.

Overall, by saving energy and reducing methane emissions, current UK
recycling is estimated to reduce carbon emissions equivalent to taking 5
million cars off the road.

We also avoid the costs of landfill, which are increasing rapidly each year and
which we pay for in our Council Tax bills.
IS MORE RECYCLING THE ANSWER?
Yes – and no. The problem is that the things we recycle cost money to produce in
the first place, more money to package them up and get them to our shops, and
another lot of money to recycle or dispose of them when we are done. In the end,
that’s always our money. Yet how often do we buy “stuff” that we don’t need or even
want? How often do we replace something that is actually OK?
The problem is made more complicated when we realise that the “stuff” we like to
buy is often made using finite resources we take for granted, like metals and oilbased plastics. All such resources are going to be more expensive as they become
more scarce. So the starting point is not “how much more can I recycle” but how
much less “stuff” do I really need?
As “stuff” gets more expensive – because of the cost of making it, transporting it and
trashing it – breaking the “stuff” habit is going to be one of the best things we ever
did. So is more recycling the answer? Yes – because it makes sure we re-process
the resources we have; and No - because once we break the “stuff” habit, we won’t
have as much to recycle in the first place!
SO WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Get a handle on the “stuff” issue
Why not watch, individually or in your group, the 20-minute film The Story of Stuff,
available online at www.storyofstuff.com/ Then have a conversation together about
what this brought up for you.
Alternatively (or as well), check out www.therubbishdiet.blogspot.com/ to be inspired
how one family managed zero waste (apart from a plaster)
Read the book “Book of Rubbish Ideas” by Tracy Smith and check out her blog
www.traceysmith.info
Shopwise
 Get organised before heading out.

Take your shopping bags with you or invest in lifetime bags on your next trip.
Or go online (e.g. www.onyabags.co.uk/)

Buy things you really want or need, and preferably things that are either made
from recycled materials, made locally, and/or made to last.

Try the charity shops for both bargains and because they are reused/recycled
goods.

Buy rechargeable batteries, they pay for themselves quite quickly.

Buy the food you need by planning your meals ahead and shopping
accordingly.

Using the fruit and veg shop and a local butcher’s or farm shop instead of a
supermarket will save you unnecessary plastic packaging.

Get milk delivered to your door – each glass bottle is reused at least 12 times
before being recycled – try www.findmeamilkman.net

For essential packaging, choose stuff that you can recycle or compost (e.g.
jars rather than tubes of tomato paste; cardboard packets rather than plastic).

Group with friends to bulk buy dry goods and/or meat and veg together and
share them out in your own containers (you can get advice on shared food
buying from www.somersetcommunityfood.org.uk)

Switch to cloth nappies and save ££££s – they have changed somewhat since
the days of terry towelling and pins, and you only need 24 for one baby’s
bottom! Go to www.somersetwaste.gov.uk/pages/realnappies.asp for advice.

Ladies – your sanitary ware ends up as rubbish whether we bin it or flush it
down the loo – and costs us a fortune. Consider alternatives such as the
Mooncup (www.mooncup.co.uk).
Cookwise
Since most of our food waste comes either from things past their sell by date or just
stale, or from leftovers, we can do huge amounts to make changes here. By
planning your shopping, you are also better able to plan your cooking.
Go to the brilliant www.lovefoodhatewaste.com for top tips, including how to
measure portions, ideas for leftovers, what to freeze and when, and how to organise
your fridge and store cupboard.
Reduce and reuse
 Donate unwanted furniture and electrical items to; the Home Furniture Service
Trust 01823 253053, the British Heart Foundation Home and Electrical store
(High St, Taunton) 0844 2489122, St Margaret’s Hospice (most towns and
villages have one) or Furnicare for details of a suitable organisation in your
local area see
http://www.recyclesomerset.info/pages/a2z_details.asp?class=Home&ID=42

Take your unwanted clothing, books, toys, DVDs etc to charity shops

Let your useful-but-unwanted stuff loose via Freecycle, the website that keeps
“stuff” moving around the people who want it locally: www.uk.freecycle.org
Auction it off on www.ebay.co.uk or go to www.swapitshop.com for an under
18s (regulated) “stuff” swap shop or organise a groups swap it event.

Stop unwanted junk mail by registering with the Mailing Preference Service for
addressed junk mail www.mpsonline.org.uk 0845 703 4599, and by emailing
optout@royalmail.com with your name and address for unaddressed mail.

Give your unwanted magazines to your Doctors’ or Dentists’ surgery

Reuse envelopes with stickers from the Woodland Trust
www.woodlandtrustshop.com/stationery/envelope-labels

And don’t use the loo as an “invisible” disposal point (apart from the
essentials....)
Recycle
In Somerset, we are blessed with a comprehensive recycling service. On your
doorsteps you have:
 A box (weekly) for paper, glass bottles and jars, food and drinks cans, foil,
clothes, shoes, car batteries.
 A box (weekly) for plastic bottles and cardboard (final roll out across the
county to be finished 2011)
 Brown bin (weekly) for all waste cooked and raw food including fruit and
vegetables, meat and fish including small bones, cheese and egg shells,
bread, pasta, cereal, tea bags, coffee grounds (but check what you can
compost instead).
 A wheelie bin (fortnightly) for non compostable household waste such as
plastic packaging and film, vacuum cleaner contents (though can be home
composted), pet litter and disposable nappies. Why not weigh how much you
stick in your grey bin each fortnight and see how much you can reduce it by!
 A garden waste wheelie bin (fortnightly paid for service) for flowers, plants &
weeds, grass cuttings, straw or sawdust, thin hedge prunings (but check what
you can also compost yourself for compost bin offers see
http://www.somersetwaste.gov.uk/pages/composting.asp ).
In addition to the Council-provided bins, go to www.homerecycling.co.uk for other
storage ideas for the stuff you can take to the Recycling Centre.
Recycling Centres take asbestos (in some recycling centres), cans, cardboard,
drink/liquid cartons (in some recycling centres), electrical appliances, engine oil,
fluorescent tubes, fridges and freezers, garden waste, glass bottles and jars,
hardcore, paper, plasterboard (in some recycling centres), plastic bottles, low energy
light bulbs, car batteries, toner cartridges, mobile phones, and car tyres. You can
also recycle household batteries here, and at supermarkets too (who also take in
unwanted plastic carrier bags). See
http://www.somersetwaste.gov.uk/pages/LS_reuse_recycle.asp for more details.
Want to know what happens to all your recycled goods? Check out
www.somersetwaste.gov.uk/pdf/SWP%20Recycling%20End-Uses%2020082009%20v2.pdf for the full details.
Composting
Composting your garden and food waste is simple and provides a fantastic natural
nutrient for growing lovely fruit, veg and flowers. And it is great way to recycle. You
can compost more than most people realise, including cardboard, animal bedding,
kitchen towel roll, vegetable scraps, natural fibres such as cotton, and teabags.
There is lots of advice to hand. For the personal touch, get your own Composting
Champion to help by contacting Somerset Waste Action Programme at Carymoor
Environment Centre. 01963 351350
www.somersetwaste.gov.uk/pages/info_composting6.asp Somerset Community
Food www.somersetcommunityfood.org.uk 01458 254269. For online help, try
www.recyclenow.com/home_composting , www.videojug.com (and type in
“composting” for a choice of video advice), or go to
www.gardenorganic.org.uk/organicgardening/compost_pf.php for down to earth doit-yourself guides.
You don’t even need lots of space either to compost or to grow stuff. Such is the
cleverness of composting options these days, you can do wonders whether you have
an acre or a balcony, or even just a window box. Check out
www.somersetwaste.gov.uk for good offers on compost bins, or see
www.wormery.co.uk for how to have your very own worms do the work for you.
And try www.myzerowaste.com and www.recyclenow.com/why_recycling_matters
for yet more inspiration and tips (including 10 things to do with coffee grounds.....)
CHOICES, CHOICES!
As a group, why not invite a speaker from the Somerset Waste Action Programme at
Carymoor Environmental Centre 01963 351350 or better still arrange a group visit to
Carymoor www.carymoor.org.uk see what happens at a landfill and how the trust
has helped to restore biodiversity at the site.
Also go through the following questions to agree what your action plan is going to be
to reduce waste in your community.
SHOPWISE
COOKWISE REDUCE
AND
REUSE
RECYCLE
COMPOST
What am I
already
good at
doing?
What could
I be (even)
better at
doing?
What do I
plan to do?
How will I
know I have
done well?
Agree amongst yourselves how you want to report back on your successes – and
any discoveries you make as you do things differently. Will you decide to weigh your
grey wheelie bin contents to compare a “before and after”? Might you bring a low
packaging picnic next time to share? Do you want to club together to share a
compost bin? Do you want to plan to tell each other how doing some of this stuff has
changed your thinking?
And finally why not extend the waste free vibe by organising a community litter pick
to remove rubbish from our streets and countryside - for info see
www.thebigtidyup.org
Good luck on your waste free mission!