Let’s Help Make Earth Great Again – Sustainable Swaps

Following on from last week’s blog about recycling in Harrogate, I wanted to highlight the things you can do around the home to help reduce recycling waste i.e. sustainable swaps that mean you create little or no recycling.

According to the Harrogate Borough Council’s website, each household in Harrogate district produces on average 750 kilograms of rubbish each year and although we are recycling more and more, it costs approximately £116 per tonne to dispose of the waste that isn’t covered in kerbside recycling.

 

Wouldn’t it be great if we could reduce the amount of waste each household produces each year so that the £116 per tonne could be spent elsewhere in our district?

 

Parenting is hard, so I don’t want to add more to your already busy workload, but if you could implement a few simple swaps in the home (if possible) then it might help our district, our planet and ultimately our children. Suggested swaps include;

 

• Washing powder instead of liquid, gel or tabs. It comes in a cardboard box which is much easier to recycle.

 

• A bar of hand soap instead of liquid soap. You can get some lovely smelling ones without having to pay a fortune.

 

• Toilet Roll – Who Gives a Crap online offer a great service.

 

• Switch to washable cotton rounds instead of cotton wool/pads. You can buy these in Holland & Barrett on the high-street or online. There are also many other retailers that sell them online.

 

• Shop locally and take your own containers to collect food in. Roots and Fruits in Bilton have set up a system so you can take your own containers in and fill them up with porridge oats, pasta, lentils etc.

 

There are also many other ideas from lots of wonderful companies all trying to make a difference.

 

Plastic Free Harrogate  have a dream to “get rid of single use plastics” and they have a fantastic directory full of information and tips on how to reduce, reuse and recycle. Worth a look.

They have lots of advice including the following; Use what you already have in the house, make good use of all the plastic you already have – Bags for life, margarine tubs, Tupperware boxes. The most zero waste product is the one you already have.

 

The Refilling Station Harrogate has a whole host of refillable items that you can buy. Starting out in Leeds as a pop-up shop, they now have a permanent home there and have just opened up in Harrogate. Selling washing up liquid, laundry liquid, fabric conditioner, oats, sugar, paper tape (brilliant alternative to Sellotape for Christmas) and many other refills and ethical groceries. I am personally very excited about this opening up in Harrogate.

 

JarFull are a company who provide products in reusable packaging e.g. a JarFull of rice or a JarFull of granola.

 

And it doesn’t need to be consumables only.

 

For furniture there is a company in Harrogate called Essential Needs who are diverting goods away from landfill and supporting our community.

 

The British Heart Foundation Bookshop saves books from landfill whilst also donating to charity and if you can’t find the book you want there, World of Books  online have a whole host of books to choose from and are again saving books from landfill.

 

“The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it” Robert Swann