We all know it's now the time to focus on what we can to reduce and reuse our waste. Thankfully, almost 9 out of 10 of us are already recycling in the UK, but 55% of households still put items in the general rubbish that could be recycled. Our beautiful planet needs us more than ever, and every one of us, every single day, has the power to make a difference.
Benefits of recycling
1. Recycling helps protect the environment
Mining, quarrying, refining and processing of raw materials is carried out during the process of manufacturing new materials. Recycling reduces the need for these actions as we can reuse old materials instead of creating new ones.
Reusing instead of creating also reduces greenhouse gas emissions, substantial air and water pollutions and saves energy (helping to tackle climate change). Currently in the UK, recycling saves more than 18 million tonnes of CO2 a year, this is equivalent to taking 5 million cars off the road.
2. Recycling reduces pollution
When recklessly throwing away your rubbish, it’s good to consider if it can be used elsewhere. Land, air and water pollution has resulted from industrial waste from chemicals, cans and plastic. Therefore, recycling these materials will massively improve our environment.
3. Recycling is environment-friendly
Millions of trees get cut down daily to make paper. Trees have a massive role in keeping Mother Nature alive and therefore recycling paper helps to restore forests and protect our environment. Many paper manufacturing companies recycle paper to reduce deforestation and more and more families are starting to contribute to recycling paper.
4. Reduces the Size of Landfills
One of the main reasons why recycling is so important is the reduction in the strain on our environment. By recycling more products and being more mindful with our waste, we can decrease the size of our landfills.
It will become harder to store rubbish in landfills as the population increases. We will be faced with pollution, heath problems and poisoning as a result of this. Therefore, recycling and reducing the amount of rubbish in landfills helps to decrease the levels of pollution.
5. More Employment Opportunities
A huge benefit to recycling is the many job opportunities it creates for the unemployed. Every time you recycle, it must be sorted and shipped to the correct places. This process is carried out by thousands of workers in the growing industry.
The increasing levels of recycling being carried out contributes to the increasing levels of job opportunities.
What can you recycle?
- Paper including newspapers, magazines, and mixed paper.
- Cardboard
- Glass bottles and jars.
- Rigid plastic products.
- Metal containers, including tin, aluminum, and steel cans.
- Food waste
Items you might not know you can Recycle:
Aerosols. From hairsprays to deodorants, aerosols are widely recycled. Just make sure they’re completely empty and detach the lid.
Shampoo, detergent, shower gel bottles. Empty and replace the lid to recycle your shampoo, detergent, and shower gel bottles. Put the lid back on to prevent any leftover liquid from contaminating the rest of your recycling.
Aluminium foil and trays. Clean household foil and aluminium trays are widely recycled, just rinse or wipe off any crumbs or food residue.
Our Sustainable Swaps
1 - Reducing Plastic
As part of our commitment to sustainability, we've been busy changing the design of many existing products this year. As a priority, we've mainly focused on gift sets to reduce unnecessary packaging and improve where possible.
Examples below include:
- We've switched the old plastic outer packaging to 100% recyclable card boxes in our AAA Bath & Body collections (in all fragrances).
- We've removed all plastic film windows from our AAA full-size hand cream set, mini hand cream set, and full-size soap gift sets. The overall size of the gift boxes may have decreased slightly, but the products inside remain unchanged.
- We have done the same as above for our Naturally European gift sets, so our mini hand cream and mini hand wash sets come in cardboard boxes.
- The new Mr Festive gift set now includes an outer card box that can now be easily recycled.
2 - Using Recycled Plastic
We know it's got a bad name, but you have to appreciate the effectiveness of plastic as a versatile, durable and cost-effective material. Without even realising, it helps us so much in our daily lives, from washing our clothes to the cars we drive and, more recently, keeping us safe during the pandemic (in terms of PPE). However, we understand the need to be part of a circular economy for plastic where single-use plastics are continually recycled.
As a result, we've introduced Post-Consumer Resin (PCR) into many of our plastic bottles. Meaning the plastic in the following bottles contain previously used (recycled) plastic:
- Naturally European Sanitisers (all scents)
- Naturally European Mini Hand Wash Set
- AAA Hand Wash
- AAA Travel Collections
- AAA Hand Sanitisers
1. Stop unwanted mail
To stop receiving unsolicited advertising mail, contact Royal Mail. This will massively reduce the amount of paper being used unnecessarily.
2. Think before you shop
Before you shop, think about how you could reduce your waste. For example, you could buy things with less packaging, or second-hand items. Can you buy something that will last longer rather than a disposable item? Can you choose a reusable bag over a carrier bag?
3. Re-home your unwanted furniture and household goods
Contact your local Furniture Re-use Network - they distribute unwanted furniture and household goods to those in need. Or advertise your old furniture in your local paper or on websites.
You can also advertise your old furniture on social media, donate good quality clothing and books to charity shops or clothing banks.
4. Avoid wasting food
Every year in the UK we throw away £12.5 billion worth of good food, costing the average family almost £60 a month.
All information on this blog is correct at the point it was published, however sustainability is an ongoing journey for us at The Somerset toiletry company. Please follow us on our socials to keep up to date with our product improvements.
The Somerset Toiletry Company was founded in 1999 and has been developing beautiful body care and gifts ever since. Please read our about us page to find out more, or explore all our scented toiletries, home fragrances and more on our website.