Re Use
Re Use is really important. It is best to Reduce first (ie not create waste in the first place!), then Reuse, and then Recycle if all else fails.
Reuse is different from recycling, as this means something that you no longer want or need gets a new lease of life with someone else. By reusing things, we keep materials out of the waste stream altogether. This saves our environment and money.
You can consider selling your unwanted items and turn them into cash. There are many ways you can do this through sites such as Ebay, Preloved or Gumtree or even locally via Orkney Merkitplace on Facebook. If you're not interested in selling your items online, why not think about having a table at a car boot sale.
Don’t Bin It – Repair It
You could think about repairing your things, or up-cycling rather than throwing things away, particularly clothing, textiles and furniture. If you're not nifty with a needle or handy with a hammer or screwdriver then you could ask family or friends to help. There are a few organisations on Orkney who offer upholstery services and there are several folk who offer clothing repair services. Orkney Zerowaste also undertake "Love Your Clothes" workshops, helping you to repair clothes and textiles or turn them into something new. Visit the "love your clothes" website via the 'Related Sites' section of this page, for some great details on how to care, repair and up-cycle your things or why not follow them on Facebook?
See our ‘Where Can I Donate’ pdf, available in the 'Related Download' section of this page, to find out where you can take your unwanted items and give them a new lease of life with someone else.
Make something out of it!
Attract more birds to your garden - make a fantastic bird feeder from an old juice carton, by following the instructions in the Woodland Trust activity sheet available from the 'Related Sites' section of this page!
Food Waste
Did you know that the average family wastes approximately £700 a year in food waste! There is lots of information available to families to help them think about what they are throwing away.
For innovative ideas on how to make delicious food from "left-overs" or other food which would otherwise go to waste go to the 'Sainsbury's Waste Less, Save More' website.
Please visit the 'Love Food Hate Waste' website to see how much money you could save your family each year; this is also available from the 'Related Sites' section.
For more information about the Scottish Governments plans for a Zero Waste nation, please visit the 'Scotland's Zero Waste Plan' page available from the 'Related Links' section of this page.
