Reduce Reuse Recycle.
Rethink, refuse, repair, repurpose….
Save money through waste reduction:
Furniture Reuse Project – Refresh
It is estimated
- over 40% of household items that are thrown away could be reused;
- diverting one tonne of reused household goods could help 15 low income households;
- reuse services save low income beneficiaries an average of £150.
With support from Merseyside Recycling Waste Authority and Veolia, Wirral Environmental Network, working in conjunction with Magenta Living, Wirral Borough Council and Urban Vintage set up Refresh, a furniture reuse project which saved nearly 20 tonnes of reusable furniture from landfill. WEN is no longer involved with the project, but the work is being continued by Bee Wirral. If you have furniture you would like to donate to the Refresh project, please email manager@beewirral.co.uk
What goes in Wirral Bins
During 2021/22, 32.3% of household waste on the Wirral was recycled, below the national average of 44.6%. Of the items put into our green general household waste bins, 39% is food waste and 5% textiles.
UK households waste, on average, £470 worth of food, which goes in the bin when it could have been eaten. Unwanted food that goes into a general bin rots in landfill and creates methane – a powerful greenhouse gas.
It is estimated £140 million worth of clothing goes into landfill each year.
Download a list of what items go in each of our household bins
What can be done
The Government is consulting on plans to make food waste collection mandatory.
There are many options for recycling and reusing old and unused clothes and textiles throughout Wirral, including:
- Designer wear and preloved clothes shop that give money for items sold
- Cash for clothes shops
- Charitable doorstep collections,
- Textile containers at Wirral’s the region’s Household Waste Recycling Centres
- Bring banks
- Charity shops
If you think some clothing isn’t of good enough quality to be used by anyone else doesn’t mean it isn’t – these items can be recycled for a range of uses including wiping cloths, felts and other non-clothing uses. The fabrics are shredded and reprocessed into new items.
Hard to Recycle Items
There are items that can not be put in our grey recycling bin, nor dropped off at a Household Waste Recycling Centre, but can nevertheless be recycled if you know what to do with them!
Download a list of where to take hard to recycle items
Thanks to Manisha for compiling this great resource. The list is up to date as of May 2023. If you have any suggestions of other items to include on the list that can be recycled by local shops or organisations, please email wen@la21.net
