Rubbish Diet Challenge 2012

What is the Rubbish Diet Challenge? 

We're always trying to encourage our lovely locals to cut down on their waste, but how easy can it really be? Challenge accepted!!

Alongside 8 other bloggers we'll be following the top tips and advice of household waste guru Karen Cannard of The Rubbish Diet, as she encourages us on how to out our bin on a diet too! You too can see her tips and advice, as well as see how she got on when the spotlight was on her bins at www.therubbishdiet.blogspot.com.

We'll be blogging away here, as well as tweeting on @RubbishGeek and Faceybooking at Letswasteless Nelc

Week 1 I took my homework back last night, and took some piccies. Week one we need to work out what waste we're throwing out, and what can be recycled in our area.

I've just moved house into North East Lincolnshire Council and new recycling system, so I've got new boxes and bins to get to grips with. Details of the collection system are on www.nelincs.gov.uk/recycle

Green wheelie bin is general waste (collected weekly)
Brown wheelie bin is garden waste and cardboard (collected fortnightly)
Green box is glass  (collected fortnightly)
Orange box is cans and tins (collected fortnightly)
Blue box is paper (collected fortnightly) see below

I've also got huge amounts of paper to recycle, having had a blitz on the filing system during the house move, so despite having a fortnightly collection of recycling, the box is full already with one week still to go! I keep the paper box inside for convenience.

Last week I put out loads of cardboard in the monthly winter collection (brown bin) from christmas presents. 

In the general waste bin (weekly) was 1 black sack of kitchen rubbish and two carrier bags of household rubbish. Not too bad really, I felt. The recycling boxes (fortnightly) were full to the brim from a party the week before.

So what's in the bins this week? 

Kitchen bin.. mostly plastic films, and yoghurt pots

bathroom bin ... some recyclables have sneaked in here!

 I can see a lot of plastic - plastic films, plastic yoghurt pots and I used one of my bug bears this morning - plastic meat trays.

However on closer inspection I found the tray is actually a type 1 plastic! 

Type 1 plastic (as well as 2 and 3) can be recycled with plastic bottles in bring banks, one of which we have in the village. So the film and wadding will have to go, and I'll wash it out, but hurray - this tray at least can be recycled! Check for a number inside a triangle to work out what types of plastic are being used.
There are also a few items other that should be recycled, like paper and cardboard in the bathroom bin (I blame DH, he's not very good at looking beyond the nearest bin). So an action for future could be to get separate areas in the bathroom for recycling to go on.

My compost bucket is full to the brim but… I had to leave my outdoor compost bin behind in the house move, bye bye House A...

Compost bucket, full to the brim!

So my target action for this week is to buy a new one for my garden in House B. In North East Lincs the price is subsidised by the council, and includes delivery, a compost bucket and an activator liquid to speed up the process. www.nel.getcomposting.com is the website to order them from.

I thought I was going to have a terrible start to the week - as it was Chinese New Year, we invited some friends over to share a meal. We're not Chinese, but do LOVE chinese food. However I hate having to deal with all the various cartons and tubs that come with a takeaway. I try to re-use the tubs, but have ended up with a cupboard full of spare tupperware which drives DH bonkers, especially as many are missing matching lids! Anyway, this time brain wave struck! We ended up going to our local chinese restaurant instead and let them do the washing up! Lots of waste avoided, as well as having to tidy my dining room table!

Ok, lots of info about my bins - up close, and honest! 

How are your bins this week?

Rubbish Geek