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Recycling at homeEvery year, North Yorkshire residents produce approximately 300,000 tonnes of household waste. 46% of the waste produced is reused, recycled or composted, but the remainder is buried in landfill sites, which are rapidly filling up. There are a number of ways we can prevent waste, or reuse items which can save us money and help the environment.
Reducing food wasteMore than 50% of all food and drink waste thrown away in the UK is produced by households. This is 7.2 million tonnes of food and drink waste, with more than half of this being food and drink that could have been eaten. Wasted food is currently costing the average household £480 each year, rising to £680 for families with children. There are two main reasons why food and drink is thrown away - we either cook or prepare too much food, or it is not used in time. Five simple ways to reduce food waste are:
The national campaign website has lots of recipe suggestions, a portion calculator and top tips for planning meals. Find out more at www.lovefoodhatewaste.com. Compost at homeWith over a third of our household bin being made up of items that could be composted, using a compost bin or heap is an easy way to reduce waste and make free compost. Find out more about getting started composting, including purchasing a low cost compost bin on the recycling - composters page. Other ways to reduce wasteOther ways to reduce waste includes the use of real nappies, reducing the amount of junk mail and shopping smartly. Find out more about other ways to reduce waste here. ReuseReuse means using something again for the same or another purpose instead of throwing it away. Many items that might be considered waste can be used again, either by you or by somebody else. A wide range of items can be reused including;
Items can be reused by simply giving them to family and friends, donating them to local charity shops and furniture reuse organisations, listing them on one of the reuse websites such as freegle or in the case of hand tools and bicycles donating them to your local household waste recycling centre. Find your nearest reuse scheme on the York and North Yorkshire Waste Partnership's reuse directory. RecyclingIf waste can't be reduced or reused, try to recycle your items. Recycling an item means that it is converted into a new product, reducing the need to consume natural resources. Items can be recycled;
For more information on the materials that can be recycled, collection times, location of bring sites and household waste recycling centre and opening times of the household waste recycling centres follow the link to the relevant pages.
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Composting
 Household waste recycling centres
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