how many binbags

[Russian Doll]

do you get through

only reason im asking is that i have mine down to two a week now..thats with 4 kids and me plus nappies

so am i doing okay

[theabsinthefairy]

We - or rather I dragging the rest of them with me (only hubbie and teenager to consider) have been on a throw as little away as possible year since 1st Jan 2009.

We are now at the level of one cereal bag (from inside the box - the boxes are either in the garden or used to collect twigs in order to serve as fire lighters) every fortnight, which I admit is stuffed full, but where we have had to buy something we have used the packaging at least three times over already so as to feel as though we are getting the most out of everything.

I now have a basket full of saran wrap pieces, washed tin foil, and miscellaneous bits of other plastic and polysterene containers all of which I am sure I will find another couple of uses for before I resort to finally having to throw them away.

We are being extreme though, and I am policing it very strictly.

[red]

we dont use bin bags - rubbish straight into the wheely bin. so I'm not sure hwo it compares.. but we have never filled it.. not even when we got the dates mixed up and missed it and it went 4 weeks. We didn't even get close.

[Russian Doll]

we dont use bin bags - rubbish straight into the wheely bin. so I'm not sure hwo it compares.. but we have never filled it.. not even when we got the dates mixed up and missed it and it went 4 weeks. We didn't even get close.

id love to do that but our binmen are not allowed to collect loose rubbish

[red]

we dont use bin bags - rubbish straight into the wheely bin. so I'm not sure hwo it compares.. but we have never filled it.. not even when we got the dates mixed up and missed it and it went 4 weeks. We didn't even get close.

id love to do that but our binmen are not allowed to collect loose rubbish

thats a shame. I think we are quite lucky with our refuse collection.. the recycling collection is not that strict too, we have one bag for paper things, another for cans and milk cartons - whereas in the next district over they ahve hundreds of different boxes for different things

[Annpan]

We have 1 shopping bag* full a week usually but now we are getting a recycling collection I think it might go down to 1 every 2 or 3 weeks.

We have been using our old bags for a year now without picking any new ones up and the still seem to accumulate

[Shirley]

Russian Doll - I think the key word in your post was DOWN - the fact that you've reduced is great.

[Penny Lane]

Our 'normal' rubbish is probably between one & two black bags a week but, having no where else to dispose of 30-40kgs of cat litter each week we add another three or four bags to that
OH takes all our rubbish & recycling to the c.a site each week so the poor binmen don't hurt their backs! if I can lift them surely they can too!!)
I'm on a mission to reduce our rubbish at least.

[lsm1066]

Our normal household rubbish is about a carrier bag a week for a family of 4 (no nappies or cat litter though, which would expand it considerably). However, my husband produces about 3 sacks a week in his workshop thank to foam offcuts that can't be recycled.

Oo! That gives me an idea for a "101 uses for"!

[theabsinthefairy]

Russian Doll - I think the key word in your post was DOWN - the fact that you've reduced is great.

Hear hear

And the same goes for everyone trying to reduce their rubbish.

[JulieSherris]

We have 2 wheelies - and most of the time I put them out every other time, as usually I only have 1 bag of 'black' rubbish a fortnight - the blue bin is filled with guinness cans, but if I crush those with my crusher, I could leave this every 6 weeks maybe.... compared with life in Blackpool, it's very low now - it used to be maybe 4 bags a week, now roughly 1 if I was to put it all together - and most of that is the plastic packaging that has either been re-used elsewhere first or fit for nothing else anyway!

[Russian Doll]

any more ideas for how to reduce further...i now compost food waste and recycle...also send most things of to freecycle..but am i missing something

[Annpan]

I think in our house we are very aware to what we bring in to the house, and we recycle at home as much as possible

Glass jars get re-used (we just won't buy jars that can't be re-used)
Tetra packs are cut down and used as plant colars, or soap molds - but most tetra packs are from smoothies and we often buy the fruit instead, so we don't have the rubbish
We get our milk delivered in glass bottles which get returned
We use re-usable nappies (thanks to you Russian Doll )
We buy hardly any pre-prepared food and bulk buy dried foods.
We try not to buy bagged fruit and veg, and refuse plastic carrier bags.
We only have one cat and encourage her to 'go' outside.

Our main bin use is for tin cans, but our blue bin recycling starts week after next


I'm not sure that I could do it all if I was on my own with 4 kids, or if I didn't have such a big garden with plenty of storage for stuff to be re-used.

[prison break fan]

To reduce my rubbish was one of my New Year resolutions, and I am doing quite well I think. Dustbin goes out about once every 3 weeks with just soft plastic wrapping in it. Everything else gets recycled either here with my council or 3 miles up the road at a friend's whose recycling is completely different. Luckily hers takes bottles, so my neighbours don't get to see how many we get through! Not really convinced by recycling though, It seems to just be ending up in warehouses here in Sussex. pbf

[red]

any more ideas for how to reduce further...i now compost food waste and recycle...also send most things of to freecycle..but am i missing something

I guess the trick is to look at the rubbish and work out what most of it is, and see if you can buy less. Not easy with 4 kids and nappies though.
buying meat from butchers means no cartons etc - buy veg loose, use your own bags etc. spect you are doing all this already