Waste

Why is it important to reduce our waste?

Reducing our individual waste, especially plastic and composite (e.g. TetraPak) waste, is one of the most effective ways of minimising the impact of pollution on our earth. On the one hand it’s important to reduce waste, to make our consumption more efficient and balanced, and on the other hand reducing the waste we cause means reducing many negative impacts on our environment and biodiversity. Additionally, reducing waste and using resources mindfully saves us money.

Reduce food waste

• Plan your meals and only buy what you need for that week: it also saves you money and time.
• Buy “ugly” or different-looking fruits and vegetables, because they often go to waste if no one buys them and they taste exactly the same.
• Measure portion sizes of pasta, rice and other staples to cook the right amount.
• Store food wisely, (use a freezer if you have one) using labels, dates and the right containers. And of course, know your food labels. (To get orientation in the “jungle” of labels, look for guides and tips which are made available in many countries, e.g. by consumer and environmental organizations and experts.)
• Share food → a lot of bakeries, cantines, etc. use apps to hand out leftover food after closing hours – you can often make a good deal too!

Love your leftovers – store them properly and learn new recipes to make with leftovers → here are some recipe recommendations

• Freeze bread if you have too much, or wet stale bread and put it in the oven to make it crunchy again. If the bread is too hard, just blend it and use it as breadcrumbs
• Make banana bread and pancakes – they even taste better with brown, mushy overripe bananas.
• Freeze fruit to make smoothies, or make jam or jelly out of it.

Compost your organic food waste. Here are some tips:

• If you are composting over a municipal program you can also compost meat and bones. However, if you are composting your own rubbish in your garden avoid this, because it attracts rodents.
• Coffee grounds and eggshells can be used directly as fertilisers.
• Get some chickens: they eat most of your organic food waste and caring for an animal and learning about the cycle of your food also teaches your and your loved ones important lessons for life.
• In a town in Belgium, where they gave 2,000 families three chickens for free, the presence of those 6,000 urban chickens along with instructions on how to care for them, was able to reduce 100 tons of waste that would have landed in a landfill.Learn more here.

Reduce the use of plastic and composite packaging

• Avoid products that come in composite packaging. Some examples are TetraPak or paper cups and containers lined with wax or plastic.
• Buy vegetables from the market or zero waste shops.
• Shop in bulk and avoid products packaged in small and very small portions.
• Take your own reusable containers to avoid single use takeaway boxes (e.g. at takeaways or also to restaurants for your leftovers).
• Use a returnable system for coffee cups and bowls if available in your area, often you also save money on your drink or food by going sustainable

In the bathroom:

• Use alternative body care products: shampoo, soap, deodorant can all be bought without any plastic packaging. And they usually last longer so it´s also a saving for your wallet.
• Toothbrush, dish scrubber, sponges can all be made from natural material like sisal, bamboo, etc.
• When you are out of plastic cotton buds replace them with paper cotton buds or reusable ones.
• Instead of buying plastic razors, buy metal ones.
• Instead of using a plastic loofah replace it with a natural fibre wash cloth or natural loofah.
• Instead of buying plastic dental floss, buy wax dental floss.
• When you replace your toilet brush, make sure it is a non plastic one.

In the kitchen:

• Replace cling film with bees wax wraps or reusable silicone covers.
• Replace disposable plastic sponges with ones made out of eco-friendly materials. 
• Detergent, dishwashing tabs, rinse aid and Co. can be either produced Do-it-yourself (DIY) with only a few ingredients or bought in refill formats (e.g. refill tabs that are only packed in small sachets and require only water to fill the old bottle up).
• There are many alternatives of products you use to cook that come without packaging. E.g when buying milk, go for powder milk that saves you carrying the heavy tetra packs and avoids huge amounts of waste.
• Use plastic free tea bags or loose leaf tea.
• Avoid using bin bags if possible and throw your rubbish directly into the big bin – your bin will stay smell free if you wash it regularly.
• Instead of plastic strings, buy cotton strings.
• Instead of plastic cooking utensils, use wooden or metal ones.
• Instead of a plastic drying rack, use a wood or metal one.
• Instead of plastic bowls and Tupperwares, use with metal and glass ones.
• Instead of plastic chopping boards, use wooden ones.

Reduce other waste

• Instead of plastic clothes pegs, use wooden ones.
• Receive your receipts by email instead of on paper.
• Put a “No Junk Mail” sign on your letter box. → For more information on how to reduce your paper consumption view the Biodiversity Module (under “Easy to do”).
• If available, buy drinks in reusable bottles (as part of a deposit system) instead of single-use bottles and tetra packs.
• Reuse cardboard parcels or have a look for systems of return: Some offline stores take back used, complete cardboard parcels as donation to use them for further sendings of themselves or other interested private people.

→ You’ll find more tips on avoiding plastic, packaging and similar waste in the Lifestyle Module (see, in particular: Biggest Impact, 2. ‘Buy Smart’).

External Articles & NEWS

Reduce Abfallvermeidung

Why is it important to reuse items?

Reusing gives things, which would otherwise be single use items, a second or even many more lives. This changes our throw-away mindset and reduces waste. Some countries like the countries of the EU have banned the use of certain single use plastics which makes this transition even easier.

Here are some tips and concrete examples:

• Get a reusable water bottle, thermos, lunch box and cutlery to stop buying single-use packaging.
• Reuse plastic bags for other shopping trips, or to keep wet clothing or shoes in your suitcase, and much more.
• Try to integrate old pieces of clothing from your wardrobe into your current outfits or have a clothes exchange party – for example, with your Change Club or in your neighbourhood.
• Repair what you have. – For example: A jacket that doesn’t close any more due to its broken zipper. A boiler that doesn’t cook water any more as its contact is damaged. – Bring such things to a tailor to a repair café, etc. There are people that can help you, your wallet and the environment. 
• Reuse plastic tubs as containers for food, screws or as plant pots.
• Use empty glass jars as for homemade jam, to propagate plants or as containers for other things.
• Keep strings and other clips on packaging to use in many different ways.
• Make a pin board out of old wine corks or use them as firestarters. 
• Use egg cartons to plant seedlings, to store small decoration or jewellery in them, to organise your nuts and bolts, or to use as protective packing material.
• Make rags out of your old clothes.
• Make bags or patches out of jeans.
• Donate or sell old things you don’t want anymore – someone else might want it and make use of it.

Think out of the box and get creative!

Before throwing something away, think if you are able to give it a second life.

External Articles & NEWS

Reuse

Why is recycling important?

Recycling serves to recover materials and thus reduces the need to produce new plastics. Recycling is a central component of the usage of plastic that is, as much as possible, circular – and, more broadly, of a circular economy.

Some tips and concrete examples:

→ Recycle paper, plastics, glass and metals wherever possible, this significantly reduces the amount of waste that ends up on landfills:

• Sometimes this means that you have to separate your rubbish, for example the yoghurt lid from the pot or a plastic window from a pasta packet.
• Be aware that the possibilities to recycle litter are not equal in every municipality: Due to different recycling plants, some cities can process most kinds of plastics while others only accept certain packaging made out of plastics. Take a look at your local guidelines and offers for waste separation and recycling.
• Some packaging already allows destacking of composites. Use it!

→ Learn how to dispose of and recycle your waste properly – this may vary a lot depending on where you live. Also look into how your municipality deals with other waste, such as:

• Special waste like medicines, solvents, batteries, energy-saving lamps, fluorescent tubes, pesticides and half-emptied containers of paints and adhesives, cooking oil → Contact your municipality to find out about pick-ups or collecting stations for these types of waste or the recommended method of disposal. Cooking oil, for example, can often be poured into a sealable container and thrown into the residual waste bin.
• Electronic waste like cables, small electronic devices such as phones, calculators, mp3 players, other appliances such as mixers, blenders, microwaves → Often, you can return electrical devices to the shop or to bring them to a collecting station, so that the raw materials can be recycled.
• Bulky waste like furniture, washing machines and dishwashers → They often need to be picked up by a special waste truck
• Old clothing and shoes → Look for charities that receive second hand clothes and shoes → Give your clothes and shoes to a second hand shop → Or you can discard it in clothing containers if these are offered in your city. – But first, find out what happens to the clothes afterwards. (Some are not managed appropriately).

→ Don’t litter – this sounds pretty obvious, but it’s still important to have in the back of your mind:

• Don’t leave rubbish behind.
• Don’t throw rubbish out of your car window, have a bin bag in your car – not even organic waste → read more in Biodiversity and Nature Module.
• Make sure to securely close your bins and tie up your bin bags, so no rubbish can fly away in the wind.
• Throw away your cigarette butts – make sure they are out, so you don’t set the bin on fire.
• Throw away your chewing gum in a rubbish bin.
• Carry a small bag to pick up rubbish you encounter every day.

External Articles & NEWS

Recycle