11/10/2007

Woking

We’re still not winning the war to cut waste

The Slyfield waste site that serves Woking borough is overflowing with waste and recycled items, such as paper.

A COUNTYWIDE campaign to cut the steady stream of rubbish flowing into Surrey’s landfills is gearing up for the autumn. The aim is to get all of us to think about what we consume and throw away — from food scraps to furniture, bottles to baby clothes. Each person in Woking throws away around 400 kilogrammes of household waste each year and the aim is to slash this drastically. Here we talk to a county council waste boss about how we can all take steps to reduce Surrey's mammoth rubbish heaps.

“This is really about taking small steps to reduce our waste,” said Surrey County Council’s Elaine Tantram. “It’s the simple things that can make a huge difference if everybody is doing it. We need to point people in the direction of the information on how to do that.”

A recently-launched online survey has revealed that too few of us are pulling our weight when it comes to reducing what we throw away.

The survey — launched by the county in conjunction with the Local Government Association earlier this month — found that the under-25s and those over 65 are still not doing enough.

Men also fare worse in the recycling and waste minimisation stakes and it is the aim of the forthcoming campaign to redress this balance. And the ways of going about this, as Elaine explained, are many. She said: “We need to get people to think about reusing their materials and goods rather than throwing them away.

“This is particularly the case with items such as clothes, books and toys. We don’t always need to bin them when other people could use them instead.”

The good old-fashioned charity shop is one asset we could all use in the war on waste. Instead of throwing our unwanted goods away, we could pass them on to someone else who needs them and help raise money for charity at the same time.

There is also a host of websites created for people looking to get rid of items but not happy about the prospect of sending them to be landfilled.

Green waste at Slyfield

Elaine said another goal is to encourage Surrey’s residents to become smarter shoppers, hence the Shop Smart campaign, which has been running since 2005.

She said: “One of the main things that people throw away is food waste. Some of things we suggest people do to eliminate food waste include making sure you take a shopping list to the supermarket and only buy things you know you’re going to eat.

“Another thing is checking sell-by dates so the item’s life doesn’t run out before you’re going to eat it. People should make sure their fridges are set to the right temperature so things don’t perish before they should.”

Elaine explained that buying food that has not been wrapped in layers of excessive packaging is another key to reducing the rate at which the county’s rubbish tips are being filled.

She said: “When people are in the supermarket they should think about packaging and look for alternatives.

“Bags used to hold vegetables can be used time and time again. People should choose the alternatives that use the least packaging.

“There is a whole series of farmers’ markets across the country where generally speaking you are buying direct from the producer so the produce doesn’t have all those layers of packaging.”

Some of the worst offenders when it comes to waste are the county’s youngest inhabitants. Disposable nappies account for 3% of Surrey’s total household waste — a clearly disproportionate figure.

That is why the county has set up the Surrey Real Nappy Network — a group aimed at steering parents from disposable nappies to reusable alternatives.

Elaine said: “The Real Nappy Network gives advice and information to parents to help them choose nappies that are best for them and their families and help them to understand what is involved.

“Nappy technology has moved on from the old fashioned terry nappies. It’s important that all parents think about the issue and are aware and make the right choice for them and their family.

“The Real Nappy Network is there to help parents make those choices and understand the alternatives. There is a lot of help available through the network.

“Waste is all of our responsibility and we all need to start thinking about what we throw away.”

First printed in: Woking News and Mail

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