Martine Rolls: Recycle to help trim your waste

Recycling saves money, is better for the environment and isn't hard work.

My friend wouldn't believe me when I told her the kids and I only fill up one rubbish bag every two or three weeks.

With her partner and their little one, they fill up at least three big black bags a week. She told me she can't be bothered recycling their waste.

Everything they don't want or use anymore goes straight into the bin.

In my house, things work a little differently. The reason we have so little rubbish each week is that recycling is second nature to me. I don't have a recycling bin to put out on the road, as those cost quite a bit, but I collect all paper, cardboard, glass, janitorial plastics, cans, and anything else the refuse centre accepts at no cost in boxes in my garage.

We take the lot to Maleme St every now and again if I'm heading in that direction anyway.

More than half of all that goes into a Tauranga City Council rubbish bag could be recycled, I read in Monday's paper.

The story by Anita Moran also explained that last year, residents in the Western Bay sent 70,000 tonnes of waste to landfill. This equates to about 430kg of waste per person. The national average is 585kg per person so even if we are doing a little better than the rest, people should still think a bit more about what they throw in the rubbish bin.

City council waste minimisation programme leader Kimberley Cleland is quoted in the story. She explains that our council runs a number of "change of behaviour" programmes, including education in schools, advocating the use of re-usable nappies, getting people to use sustainable products at events, encouraging them to shop more sustainably and not to use disposable items.

They have an adviser who goes into businesses and assesses what they're doing with their waste and resources.

Did you know that every tonne of paper and cardboard recycled saves 17 trees from being cut down and manufactured into tissues, paper and cardboard or packaging materials? While much of our paper is recycled in New Zealand, a large quantity is exported to Asia.

Glass is either sent to Auckland or exported to Asia where it is ground into a feedstock called "cullet" and mixed with virgin material to make new bottles. By including recycled glass into the manufacture of new glass, the energy requirement is reduced by 33 per cent - an easy way to save power.

Most types of plastics are also accepted for recycling in Tauranga - milk bottles, ice-cream tubs, yoghurt and margarine pots, most takeaway containers, frozen food bags and many more plastic items which are in daily use. A quick rinse is all they need before taking them to the dump.

I've always been into recycling because it saves money, is better for our environment and isn't hard work. Without it, you could be spending a lot more than you think. Three pre-stickered plastic black rubbish bags a week at $2.15 each costs you $335.40. Even two bags cost you just under $225 over a year. And if you, like most families, have a big recycle bin and one rubbish bag a week it will still cost about $210 each year.

A small wheelie bin costs about $300 if collected weekly, and, if you also have a recycle bin, it costs a good bit more.

Personally, I don't like spending extra money unless I have to. Right now I am doing my best to fill just one rubbish bag a month for my household. That would cost me just over $25 a year and I'm okay with that.

To get even better at what I've already been doing quite well, I searched the net for tips on reducing rubbish and found www.rubbishfree.co.nz.

It's not the best looking site, but it has useful tips on how to reduce waste and there are more than 85 articles with information on how to be rubbish-free.

I'm yet to try baking soda and vinegar for my hair instead of shampoo and conditioner and I really don't think I will go as far as making my own toothpaste, mouth wash and dental floss but bringing my own bags to the shops and using containers instead of plastic wrap are fairly easy things to do.

The most useful things on the rubbishfree.co.nz website are the many tips on all the things that can be reused.

Take newspapers for example. Papers are easily recycled, but they are also very handy around the home.

To light the fire of course, but did you know that newspapers can also be used to clean the barbecue grill? Why fork out for expensive cleaning products if you can simply soak newspapers in water, then lay the sheets across the grill after you have warmed it up a little.

Most people already know that newspaper is great for cleaning windows and mirrors. You fill up a bucket with cold water, add a bit of vinegar, and rub down the windows with the soaked newspaper a few times. Rub it dry with newspaper as well. I have tried this and it works better than the spray and wipe glass cleaners from the supermarket.

As I am also into growing a great edible garden, it's good to know newspapers layered thickly over bare soil can serve as a weed-mat.

Dampen the newspaper and then cover it with some kind of mulch. No one will know it's there, it's more environmentally friendly than other solutions, and you'll get a weed-free garden.

Layering shredded newspaper in the compost heap helps create a balanced pile as well, which is perfect for my newly planted seasonal vege garden. Now that's what I call a win-win.

Martine Rolls is a Tauranga writer and digital strategist.