Reduce Waste!
It takes so little effort to reduce waste these days, and the benefits mean more than just lighter bins! You’ll be saving precious land space in our small country, as well as doing your bit to help conserve natural resources.
Every year in the UK we throw away £12 billion worth of food which could have been eaten. Not only is this a waste of money, but if we all stopped wasting food that could have been eaten, it would have the same environmental impact as taking 1 in 4 cars off UK roads. The Love Food Hate Waste campaign has lots of tasty leftover recipes, a portion calculator, top tips and date label advice to help us make the most of the food we buy, which could save £50 a month.
Cut back on packaging – Careful shopping to minimise packaging means you can reduce the amount of waste you produce. Many supermarkets and other shops such as Marks and Spencers encourage use of durable shopping bags instead of carrier bags; and you can collect extra green points at Tesco if you opt for home delivery without any bags.
Cut out junk mail – Reduce waste paper, your wasted time and the hassle; to stop receiving unwanted direct mailings, register with the Mailing Preference Service 0845 703 4599.
Reuse!
Before taking items to recycling centres or throwing them away, see if you can find an alternative use for them, e.g. plastic containers used for food packaging are a good alternative to buying seed trays or plant pots. Or why not see if anyone else can make use of unwanted items? Visit the Chiltern District Freegle group at or take saleable items to a local charity shop.
Recycle!
The kerbside collection in Amersham will take glass bottles, paper, cardboard and green waste for recycling. With a little thought, recycling additional items can soon become part of your weekly routine. At recycling centres around the town you can recycle plastic bottles, cans, clothes, shoes, books, music CDs and aluminium foil.
Many more items can be recycled at the main Household Waste & Recycling Centre on London Road, Amersham. For full details of what you can recycle and where, see Chiltern District Council’s website and follow the Quick Links to Refuse & Recycling. Some further ideas of what can be recycled locally:
| Aluminium foil | Chiltern District offices and some recycling centres. Some schools e.g. Chestnut Lane Infant school, Oxfam |
| Batteries (domestic) | All retailers of batteries, including Tesco, Robert Dyas |
| Batteries (car) | Household Waste & Recycling Centres |
| Blankets and towels | Chiltern Dog Rescue Society (Tring) 01296 623885 Dogs Trust (Harefield) 01895 453930 |
| Bras | Breast Talk |
| CDs and DVDs | Resaleable ones can go in book banks at recycling centres. Music Magpie (resaleable ones) Recycling CDs (any type, made into clocks) |
| Corks | Use in the bottom of plant pots instead of stones |
| Clothing | Charity shops, clothing banks at recycling centres |
| Cooking oil | Household Waste & Recycling Centres |
| Computer monitors | Household Waste & Recycling Centres |
| Educational materials | School Aid (see below for details) |
| Egg boxes | Newbury’s greengrocers |
| Energy saving light bulbs | Household Waste & Recycling Centres |
| Engine oil | Household Waste & Recycling Centres |
| Electrical goods e.g. fridges, freezers, TVs, computers | Household Waste & Recycling Centres |
| Foreign coins | Thomas Cook (charity box) |
| Furniture | The Sharing Project, Chalfont St Peter High Wycombe Central Aid Society |
| Metal | Household Waste & Recycling Centres |
| Mobile phones | Help the Aged, Talking Mobiles, Carphone Warehouse |
| Plastic carrier bags | Tesco |
| Plastic clothes hangers | Tesco |
| Printer cartridges | Help the Aged, Cartridge World & many schools (NOT Epson or damaged cartridges) |
| Shoes | Clothing banks at recycling centres, Clarks, Roberts menswear, Chiltern Specialist dry cleaners |
| Spectacles | D&A opticians, Help the Aged |
| Stamps | Chestnut Lane Infant school |
| Tools | WorkAid (see below for details) |
| Tyres | Household Waste & Recycling Centres |
| Water filters (Brita only) | Robert Dyas |
| Wood, MDF, chipboard | Household Waste & Recycling Centres |
Household Waste & Recycling Centres – London Road, Amersham or Latimer Road, Chesham
WorkAid (Chesham) – Tools and other materials including typewriters, knitting machines, sewing machines, household and trade tools, garden tools, haberdashery items including wool, buttons and materials.
School Aid (near Beaconsfield) – Educational materials including textbooks, reading books, reference books, stationery, sports equipment, arts and crafts, sewing materials, school furniture.
For further information about what can be recycled locally including full details of what can be recycled at the Household Waste & Recycling Centres, see the Chiltern District Council’s A-Z of Waste in Chiltern.
Ever wondered what happens to the recyclable waste collected by Chiltern District Council? Click here for details.
