Rubbish Collection

This week we received our Inorganic Rubbish Collection pamphlet in the post. I have read it pretty thoroughly and seriously there are so many rules.

It would seem the days of leaving your unwanted ‘stuff’ on the kerb is OVER as now you can incur a fine. This really frustrates me.

I am really anti rubbish cluttering up our landfill so if people can take things and recycle them or fix them up then that really works for me. I love the fact that people used to drive around in their cars, vans and even trucks pillaging people's unwanted goodies.

Unfortunately, I think we live in a disposable society. So when things break it is often easier (and cheaper) to buy a new one rather than get the old one fixed.

So I believe that there are other ways you can reduce the amount of 'stuff' going into our landfills.

Reuse – recycle - reduce

Sort your unwanted ‘stuff’ into piles

Trade Me/Garage Sale – if you need money (and do not need to get rid of you things quickly) and have some good quality ‘stuff’ then listing things on Trade Me or holding a garage sale is a cool idea. I am constantly amazed at the sort of things that sell really well i.e. baby stuff, clothes, exercise equipment, DVDs, computers, books, appliances etc. Sell things in bulk lots if it is easier…i.e. 0-3 months baby clothes, chick-lit novels etc.

Freecycle – if you just want things gone quickly and you do not mind giving them away then Freecycle is for you! Sort out the good ‘stuff’ that people could use but may not want to pay for i.e. books, photo frames, office stuff, furniture, appliances, old magazines, plants, televisions, gaming consoles, glass jars with lids etc.

Hospice, Salvation Army, City Mission – good quality goods i.e. clothing, books etc. can be donated to charities. Do not give them rubbish as it is not fair to them to have to dispose of it i.e. stained t-shirts, old undies etc. can be cut up and used for cleaning rags around the house. We have even torn up old t-shirts to tie up plants in our garden.

Hazardous materials – paint, batteries, chemicals etc. can be taken to Hazardous materials collections. You can probably contact your local council to find out where the nearest one is.

Rubbish – Lastly you should be left with rubbish so recycle what you can in your fortnightly collection and then trash the rest.

What are your suggestions for reducing the amount of things that go into our landfills etc.?