Fed up with packaging?
Write a letter to the supermarkets or manufacturers to ask for less packaging or return the packaging to them.

Grocery products are not only cheaper loose, but it avoids waste and lets food breath naturally. Take a cloth bag instead of a plastic one that is difficult to recycle and takes hundreds of years to biodegrade.

Purchasing power has made a huge influence on the range of environmentally-friendly and ethical products on the market. But why not avoid things we don't need such as too much food. The average person throws away £480 worth of food each year. Think you could do better?

For the rest of the waste we cannot avoid there are hundreds of ways to recycle products into new things or pass on old items to someone that can use them again. Try www.giveortake.org.

Nappies filling your bin?
There are plenty of cloth nappies available on the market, and as Maldon District Council offers a ten pound voucher off there is all the more reason to give them a go.

Disposable nappies make up around 2.6% of the average household rubbish in a year. This is equivalent to the weight of almost 70,000 double-decker buses (Source: Waste Watch calculation) Cloth nappies allow baby’s skin to breath.

www.realnappycampaign.com

The Real Nappy Helpline 0845 8500 606

The True Cost of Cheap Clothes

The clothing industry pollutes heavily, not only in the process but on the fabrics itself. The advent of cheap clothing has meant we all buy more clothes and throw perfectly usable clothes away.

Clothes often don’t last and are made from such low-grade material much of it is even rejected by textile recyclers.Think about buying less clothes, but ones that will last. These clothes often have more traceable sources and will last years instead of months.

Cotton requires more pesticides than any other crop, what about checking out organic suppliers, clothes made out of recycled material or having a go at making some yourself.