• Choose fruit and vegetables that have not been pre packed, and take reusable shopping bags with you.
• Donate furniture and clothes to charity shops – have a look at our community recycling page
• reuse plastic bottles as cloches in the garden
• Try to avoid wasting water when rinsing items e.g. rinse out plastic milk bottles at the end of doing the dishes and rinse bubble bath bottles whilst filling the bath and using up the last of the liquid
• Stop putting vegetable and fruit peelings in your bin and start composting
• Use real nappies! Find out how we can get you started
• Break the bag habit – 8billion plastic bags were issued in the UK in 2011, reuse your bags or buy a bag for life
• Reduce the junk mail coming to your home – find out how here
• Stop wasting food – we throw away £10billion worth of food every year in the UK – have a look at the Love Food Hate Waste page website for tips and recipes
• Buy vouchers e.g theatre tickets for gifts instead of bulky goods

If you have any top tips you would like to share, please email them to us at waste@northumberland.gov.uk

• Materials from our household recycling bins get sorted in Northumberland
• The general waste from Northumberland householders mostly goes to an Energy-from-Waste Plant at Teesside and not to landfill
• 25 plastic bottles can be recycled to make one new fleece jacket
• Recycling one glass bottle or jar saves enough energy to run a Nintendo Wii for 5 hours!
• Recycling a single glass bottle saves enough energy to power a 100 watt light bulb for almost an hour, or a colour TV for 20 minutes.
• Over the past two years, the number of carrier bags used in England has increased despite repeated Government calls for retailers to reduce the numbers they give out – use a bag for life!

Why should I use them?

• It can save you money - £600+ for your first baby
• You can cover your babies' bottom with a lovely soft and fluffy alternative to a disposable nappy
• Using real nappies can reduce your impact on the environment by up to 40% compared with disposables
  • Find contact details for real nappy providers and advice here
  • Have a look at some interesting facts about real nappies

  Unfortunately, we no longer run a real nappy incentive scheme. However, we do support the real nappy campaign as an environmentally friendly, economical alternative to disposable nappies.

• For further information and advice about real nappies, please call 0845 600 6400 and ask to speak to Sheila Johnson or e-mail ask@northumberland.gov.uk

These materials keep ending up in the rubbish bin rather than the recycling bin so we want to raise awareness of their recycling value! One lucky resident per month who recycles these items will be rewarded with a prize worth £250 which they can choose to donate to a local community group or school.

 

How to enter

Simply register on the recycle-more website and then follow the instructions you receive on your welcome pack.

You will be given stickers to put on the bottles and aerosols and if yours is picked out at the recycling centre, you will be awarded the prize.

Those residents who took part in this scheme previously (from Dec 2011 to May 2012) will automatically be sent another batch of stickers so do not need to re-register.

Register for a welcome pack now.

 

Winners!

The winners so far have chosen a variety of prizes including laptops, cameras, blu ray players and DVD players. Prize winners from January – April 2013 were Mr Foster from Bedlington, Mr Hawkins and S Young from Blyth, and Mrs Hume from Shilbottle.

Previous winners include Mrs Cooper from Seaton Delaval, Mrs Fraser from Morpeth, Mrs Hodgson from Berwick, Ms Taylor from Cramlington and Mrs Holman from Wooler area, Mr Barczak, Ms Hall and Ms Scarisbrick all from Cramlington areas.

 

Who is funding this competition and why are we rewarding residents?

The competition is being funded by Waste Aware North East (WANE) who have won a pot of money from DEFRA to encourage residents to recycle more in their bins. It is supported by Northumberland County Council and four other local authorities in the North East.

If it is likely to create large amounts of additional waste, please contact us to discuss what arrangements could be made to help. If you are planning to take a large amount of sorted recyclable items and general waste to your Household Waste Recovery Centre, it is also helpful to let your local depot know. Please be aware that some household vehicles require a permit to access the Household Waste Recovery Centres. Please click here for further information.

 

How to recycle more at an event:

Consider dividing your waste collection point into the following clearly marked containers/strong boxes at your event /party:

• A strong collection container for glass bottles and jars to take to a bottle bank.
• A box for empty and where possible rinsed plastic bottles and cans- Food cans must be clean. These can go into the kerbside recycling bins. Sweet and biscuit tins can also be recycled in your kerbside recycling bin.
• A container with a lid for general waste, including food waste, crisp packets, plastic wrappers, food trays, yoghurt pots and foil etc.
• A container with a lid for fruit and vegetable waste and saved for composting.