Reducing my waste

Reducing waste, reusing items, and recycling more, protects our environment and can help you save money.

Here are some local resources which you may find useful.

Reducing waste and reusing items

Here are some links to reduce waste and reuse items:

• Hampshire County Council's Smart Living website provides lots of handy tips and resources to help you reduce waste locally. For example, you can use the website to find your nearest repair cafe, view tips on composting, or get involved by joining their group of Waste Prevention Community Champions 
• sign up to Hampshire Kitchen Heroes, run by Hampshire County Council. Take part in over 20 activities that help you save money, save waste and save the planet. Climb up the leader board and you could win a prize
• Hampshire residents can receive a 15% discount on reusable nappy products from selected online retailers, visit hants.gov.uk/reusable-nappies to reveal your online discount code and find links to local reusable nappy libraries 
• find where to dispose of or donate bulky waste locally. If you have a large item that cannot be reused elsewhere, and you are not able to take it to the tip, we can collect it from you for a small charge, as a part of our bulky waste collection service
• are you looking for ways to repair, reuse or recycle your clothes? Visit Love Your Clothes for more information and guides to love your clothes for longer
• if you would like to reduce the junk mail you receive, you can sign up to opt-out schemes

Visit Love Food Hate Waste for tips and tools to help you reduce food waste. Some ways you can reduce food waste and save money include: 

• check your fridge temperature is no higher than 5 degrees, this helps to keep food fresh for longer
• view recipes ideas on Love Food Hate Waste's website to use up commonly thrown away foods, such as bread
• Love Food Hate Waste's A-Z food storage tool provides information on how to store food and keep it fresh for longer 
• make the most of food by understanding food waste labels like 'best before', 'use by', and 'display until/sell by'. Food can be frozen right up and including its 'use by' date

Recycling more 

We have lots of information about how to recycle in the New Forest on our recycling and rubbish web pages.. 

We're working on changes to our service to support you to recycle more and reduce waste. We'll also be working with Hampshire County Council who are planning to recycle more in the future.

Read about our plans to improve recycling and reduce waste by clicking the link below.

Read about our waste and recycling strategy

In the meantime, here's some information on recycling which you may find useful: 

• some items which we cannot recycle from the kerbside, can be taken to your local Household Waste Recycling Centre, the tip
• we're part of a Hampshire-wide scheme that promotes home composting. If you live in the New Forest you can buy a compost bin online at a reduced price Learn more about home composting.
•  Recycle Now provides information on recycling. Their recycling location can help you find nearby locations to recycle items which we cannot currently recycle from the kerbside or in the district. For example, you can now take soft plastics, such as film, crisp packets, and plastic bags, to local supermarkets for recycling