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Recycling at Home

There are many ways in which you can make a difference at home, below are just a few examples:

Switch to real nappies

Disposable nappies have a huge environmental impact:

  • 3.5 billion disposable nappies are used in Britain every year - that's 8 million nappies every day
  • A baby has approximately 4,500 nappy changes in 30 months
  • 7 million trees are felled each year just to feed the production of disposables for the British market - that's 4.5 trees for each child
  • It takes a cup of crude oil to produce the plastic for 1 disposable nappy
  • Disposable nappies take between 200 and 500 years to decompose.
  • Every used disposable nappy thrown away will be in a landfill site somewhere near you.

The Real Nappy Campaign

For more information on real nappies, please visit the and The Real Nappy Campaign or call The Real Nappy Helpline on 0845 850 0606.

To find a local retailer, agent, nappy network, laundry or incentive scheme please visit The Nappy Finder. This is a search tool launched by The Real Nappy Campaign where you can simply enter your postcode or region and find any of the above services local to you.

Trafford's Real Nappy Incentive Scheme

There are alternatives to disposable nappies and as an incentive to new parents, Trafford Council offer a one month free trial to a Nappy Laundry Service, with a company called Cottontails. Freshly laundered pure cotton nappies are delivered each week and the soiled ones taken away.

To take up the free one month trail you can:

Alternatively, new mums can request a free Real Nappy Home Laundry Starter Kit and try out washing real nappies at home.

To order the free Real Nappy Home Laundry Starter Kit, call The Real Nappy Advisor on 01663 766192 or 07941 332 221.

Stop unwanted junk mail

Unwanted, unread Direct Mail is a waste but there is a way to stop it by registering with the Mail Preference Service.

The Mailing Preference Service (MPS) is a free service set up 20 years ago and funded by the direct mail industry to enable consumers to have their names and home addresses in the UK removed from or added to lists used by the industry. It is actively supported by the Royal Mail and all directly involved trade associations and fully supported by The Information Commissioners Office.

Registering is easy, you can:

Clear out your clutter

Take unwanted clothes, shoes, household textiles, books, CDs, toys and bric-a-brac to your local charity shop.

Recycle your old mobile phone, toner cartridges and foreign currency.

Help the environment and raise money for charity. See the Help the Aged website for more details.

Composting is not just for gardeners - it helps the environment too

Every year thousands of tonnes of kitchen and garden waste are thrown in the dustbin, which usually ends up in expensive, unsightly and environmentally damaging landfill sites.

Up to 35% of household waste is organic and suitable for home composting. Simply put it in a compost bin and leave it to breakdown for a few months. The end result is a rich nutritious crumbly compost which can be dug into the garden to improve soil structure. It can also be used as a mulch to suppress weeds and improve drainage.

We have joined with Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority to offer our residents the opportunity to purchase compost bins at discounted prices, starting at just £13.50 for a 220 litre compost bin.

For more details, visit the get composting website.

This page was last reviewed on 7 October 2009