A pocket sized book packed with superb information
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A pocket sized book packed with superb information on getting the most from what we use, where we buy it from and what we do with it. Another superb Green Books Guide.
The sheer volume of waste produced in the UK is staggering, every hour we produce enough rubbish to fill the Albert Hall, everyday Trafalgar Square could be filled to old Nelson's nostrils.
It wasn't always thus, in the 1950's our waste bins looked very different. The majority of homes were heated with coal so ash and clinker made up the majority of our waste until the Clean Air Act changed our home heating. There was very little plastic, as blister packs and processed food were a rarity. Food was predominantly bought loose and wrapped in paper, which was then used to light the fire. Most bottles were returnable with the small deposit ensuring that enterprising kids kept the streets and bins free of them in the search for pocket money, the milk man took the empties away. The rag and bone cart patrolled the streets picking up rags, old furniture and bones for bone china and bonemeal.
The advent of the supermarket, convenience food and fast living has fundamentally changed the way we consume, what we consume and how it is packaged. Plastic wrapped vegetables, packaged processed food, milk in cartons, drinks in plastic bottles and can. Every thing is packaged and presented in an eye catching way to encourage purchasing on crowded shelves. On average supermarket shoppers spend £470 a year on packaging, a sixth of their annual food spend.
Nicky Scott's Reduce Reuse Recycle is one of the most comprehensive guides available on how to both avoid packaged goods and what to do with what remains. Every possible purchase is listed from Aerosols to Yoghurt pots with ideas on how to reduce, reuse and recycle where appropriate. The Guide is full of useful hints and ideas as well as links to resources and organisations that can help reduce the waste your produce and maximise the utility of what you buy.
The three Rs of a greener home economic is not about sacrifice, nor for that matter expense, it is about concentrating on what we really need, so much of which is not actually materials but real engagement with what we do. It is about cutting down spending on what we don't use, like packing, getting maximum value both for ourselves the next user so that what we do buy is the best quality we can afford. This is book is a great little pocket guide to how we can get the most from what we do have to buy and make everything have a longer more productive life.
Nickly Scott is the author of `Composting For All' and `Composting: an easy household guide', both published by Green Books. He is on the management team of the National Community Composting Network.
Every home should have a guide like this, a superb effort once again Nicky.
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Essential
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This nice little book is essential to those who want to minimize the impact of their consuming in the environment.
Very easy to read and printed ( guess ) in recycled paper with very useful guide is very informative about ways of reducing the amount of things that we send to the rubbish bin every week.
The book features an A to Z guide of all the items that can recycle from cars to jars and many different ways of reducing what can not be recycled.
Even if you live in a flat in the city and you have no access to a compost bin this book will illustrate how to stop generating rubbish.I found the chapter about " Office " particularly helpful.
Independently of your beliefs on global warming and politics ,there is argument that consuming less natural resources is in everyone's interest.
I can not wait for the next edition due out this year.
5 stars
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Great little book
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There are so many things that you would put in your bin that you can divert away from the land fill. This book is a real eye opener in what can be done with items you think you can't use anymore. It's not about how you can recycle products away from your home but also how they may get a second life in your house or garden. For me. the section on reusing cooking oil alone probably paid for this book.
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A must for every household.
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The reduce, reuse, recycle mantra has been around for a long time now but incredibly there are still those too stupid or too lazy to take heed. Conflicting expertise, a vast amount of information to remember and the myriad strategies by individual councils and/or local and regional authorities can make it real headache to do what is best. This book is a one-stop-shop for anyone who wishes to reduce the amount of packaging and raw materials they take in, and dispose of what they generate responsibly if not sustainably. Great for the kids but not too patronising for adults too this book gives novel ways of countering problems and contains a vast archive of references for further investigation.
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Great Book!
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This is a great book - everyone should have a copy. It gives useful advice on what, where and how to recycle. A very valuable addition to anyone's household.
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