Getting started
Now that you’ve got your own bingo card, here are some suggestions to help you get started on your journey to becoming a Waste Warrior.
There are 9 challenges for you to take part in this September – you can download your own bingo card here if you haven’t already done so!
1. Make a meal out of leftovers
We’ve got a food waste problem in the UK that adds up to 4.5 million tonnes of edible food being wasted each year. That’s the equivalent of 10 billion meals ending up in our bins.
There’s plenty we can be doing in our own homes and workplaces to help tackle this, and we’re challenging you to make a meal out of leftovers this month! Great for a packed lunch in the office or a quick working from home lunch, we really should be loving our leftovers.
Needing some inspiration? Check out these recipes from BBC Good Food or these ones from Tesco. You’ll soon be cooking up a storm with those leftovers
2. Drop an item off at a TerraCycle point
We can recycle a huge range of materials at home and at work, but there are some tricky items which need a bit more help on their recycling journey.
Enter, TerraCycle.
Here you can recycle lots more materials like crisp packets and toothpaste tubes through a network of local drop off points. Head to your nearest one to tick this activity off!
3. Do a plastic free shop
Plastic, plastic, everywhere! On your next food shop take a stand against single use plastics and try to complete your shop without buying any plastic. This might be tougher than you think!
4. Repair an item of clothing
An estimated £140 million (around 350,000 tonnes) worth of used clothing goes to landfill in the UK every year. That’s despite the fact that a lot of this clothing can be easily repaired, used by someone else, or recycled.
Love Your Clothes is bursting at the seams with information not only on how to make your clothes last longer, but easy-repair tutorials too. Next time you’re missing a button – reach for the needle and thread instead!
5. Find your nearest electrical recycling point
Our old electronics are full of useful and valuable materials, so making sure they get recycled helps preserve these precious resources. There are so many electrical items that can be recycled – toasters, kettles, CD players, hairdryers, torches, mobile phones and smoke alarms to name just a few!
You can use the Recycle Locator to find your nearest recycling point. Depending on your local council this may be as part of your kerbside collection, through a Bring Bank or at your Household Waste and Recycling Centre.
6. Make your own face mask
The pandemic has seen more of us opting for single use plastics and going back on those fantastic positive behaviours we had made. Why not kick the single use and get crafty making your own reusable face mask?
There are two designs to choose from – one requiring no sewing at all! Get started here and don’t forget to share a picture of your creation.
7. Put a recycling bin in your bathroom
Did you know that your bathroom is awash with recyclables? We may be good at recycling elsewhere, but the bathroom is often one place that is forgotten about!
From shampoo bottles and deodorants, to toilet roll tubes and bathroom cleaners, these are all things that we can easily recycle. Find out some great ideas from Recycle Now campaign on how to get started.
8. Make a meal plan for the week
Sounds simple? It is! Food production accounts for 30% of the world’s CO2e greenhouse gas levels and by reducing our food waste we can help to cut those emissions. Get some handy tips from the Keep Crushing It campaign to make your meal plan and cut food waste from your week.
9. Have a fast fashion inbox-detox
Fast fashion, ethical supply chains and sustainable materials are quickly moving up the agenda. But what action can we take? A great first step is an ‘inbox-detox’. Simply unsubscribe from any marketing or newsletters from those brands that are perpetuating fast fashion.
We’ve found this great blog with 8 fast fashion brands to avoid with a brief explanation as to why. If that’s because of poor working conditions, exploitation of labour or unsustainable materials, an inbox-detox is a great way to take a stance on fast fashion. Are there any more that you can think of?
Become a Waste Warrior this September
Don’t forget to share your journey to becoming a #WasteWarrior with us on social media.
