How Can I Reduce Waste at Home?

Here are some ideas to help you and your family reduce the amount of waste that you produce at home:

  • Make more foods at home instead of buying takeaway or convenience foods.
  • Make gifts or cards for family and friends, instead of buying them.
  • Grow your own vegetables and flowers.
  • Buy second-hand books instead of new ones
  • Repair clothes, toys, and appliances rather than replacing them with new ones.
  • Hire, share and borrow things, rather than buying new ones, where possible.
  • Shop more carefully:
    • use a shopping list – only buy the things you really need
    • avoid goods that have too much packaging
    • don’t buy too many disposable products, such as tissues and nappies
    • buy products that are strong, and will last you a long time
    • take your own shopping bags to the supermarket

Projects For Kids

  • Put a clear plastic bag in your garbage bin at home, so you can see what types of waste your family throws out. Over a week, note down the most common types of waste produced in your house.
  • If we don’t reduce our waste, soon we will start running out of places to put it! Write a story about having to live in a “World of Garbage”.
  • Do you think the amount and types of waste we produce today is different to that produced fifty years ago, or even a hundred years ago? Write down some differences you might expect.
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