Whether it’s an elegant garden party, a picnic in the countryside or just a spot of gardening, summer is a time when we’re all making the most of the lovely weather and the great outdoors. In today’s post, we’re looking at how you can do so sustainably, without harming the very environment you’re enjoying!
Picnics and garden parties
Eating outdoors is one of summer’s greatest pleasures, but it’s even better when you know you’re helping the planet! First up, food and drink packaging. There can be quite a bit of this when you’re trying to transport food safely and keep the flies at bay outdoors, so remember to get recycling when you return!
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Cardboard and plastic packaging, such as a box of sausage rolls or pots of yogurt, can be recycled with your kerbside collection – remember to remove any food residue first! (Some councils may not take certain things, such as yogurt pots, so check our Recycling Locator to make sure.)
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Glass bottles and metal drink cans can be rinsed out and recycled from home.
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Food and drink cartons can be rinsed out and recycled in many areas of the country, or taken to recycling points (check the Recycling Locator to find your nearest one). – Leave the lids on, put any accompanying straws inside and remember – there’s no need to squash the cartons!
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Cling film used to keep picnic food fresh can’t be recycled, so will need to go in your general rubbish bin. Try to avoid using it if you can – there are some great reusable beeswax wrap alternatives.
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Foil can be scrunched up into a loose ball and recycled with your kerbside collection.
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Corks from wine and champagne bottles can go on your compost heap, and can also be chopped up into small pieces to use as mulch on the garden. The Recorked scheme will also take them.
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Crisp packets and sweet wrappers can be recycled along with plastic bags and wrapping collections at your nearest participating supermarket – check our Recycling Locator to find yours.
Picnics tend to be a hotbed of disposable items, so try to go for reusable options where possible. Use your normal cutlery and crockery from home if you can, but if you need to travel light then opt for recyclable paper plates, making sure to scrape off any food residue before recycling. Choose wooden cutlery if possible, as it can be put on your compost heap when you’re finished with it. Similarly, choose paper or reusable cups and straws over plastic ones – plastic straws can’t be recycled.
If you’ve got any inedible bits of food – such as the bones from those barbecue ribs, or the shells from your hard-boiled eggs, these can be put into your food waste caddy for recycling. Some of it can also go on your compost heap, if you have one – find out what can and can’t be composted.
You can put your empty sunscreen bottles in with your usual kerbside recycling. Overall, you can keep waste to a minimum by going reusable wherever possible – for example, choosing reusable silicon trays for ice cubes, and reusable storage boxes for leftovers.
Barbecues and fire pits
Disposable barbecues made the headlines during the drought last year due to their risk of starting wildfires, but even when they’re not starting fires, they can still damage the environment if they’re not disposed of correctly.
As with anything single-use, the best policy is to avoid using them in the first place. If you do, you’ll need to make sure they’re completely cool after use and then put the ashes and metal grill into your general rubbish bin. The foil tray can be rinsed out and recycled in your recycling bin. If you have wooden skewers left behind from barbecued meat kebabs, these can go on the compost heap or in your garden waste.
If you’re cooking on your home barbecue or gathering around the fire pit or chiminea and wondering what to do with the ashes, the answer is ‘it depends’:
If the charcoal has been treated, it’ll be marketed as ‘easy to light’, and this should be put in your general rubbish bin.
Untreated charcoal or wood ash can be used on your garden as a soil fertiliser, or go on your compost heap. Alternatively, it can go in your garden waste bin.
Always make sure the ash is fully cool before putting it in a bin or on your garden.
In the garden
Finally, if you have a garden then you’ll probably be spending some time tending to it over the summer. Grass cuttings can be put in your garden waste bin or onto your compost heap, as can anything you’ve pruned off your trees and shrubs.
If you’re planting out seedlings and have some plastic plant pots you won’t need to reuse, these can often be recycled with your kerbside collection – check our Recycling Locator to find out whether your council will collect them. If not, you may find your local garden centre will take them back. Garden tools and lawnmowers can be sold online, donated to charity or given away if they’re still in good working order, or taken to your local recycling centre if not.
Have a wonderful and sustainable summer!
