Blog Post 3 - Change your shopping habits to make recycling easier

It's Recycle Week in Scotland - we're calling on Scots to do more to recycle and look at how little changes can have a big impact down the line.

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  • The items you buy as part of your weekly shop don’t need to go to landfill; many of them can be recycled without hassle – including food.
  • Shopping smart can help reduce food waste and make home recycling easier, too.

The truth about food waste

The average household in Scotland produces 4.8kg of food waste per week. This is made up of 1.9kg of unavoidable food waste like eggs shells, peelings and bones, and 2.9kg of unavoidable food waste like meal leftovers.

Everyone has food waste. By paying attention to the food you throw away you can help to reduce it. Use a food caddy to or separate container to see how it mounts up.

Join the war on waste and make recycling easier at home by tweaking your shopping habits. It's easy - here's how:

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  • Use a portion planner – Plan your meals ahead and use recipes to anticipate exactly how much food you’ll need that week and cut down on waste.
  • Buy liners to keep your food caddy clean – Liners can help keep your food caddy clean and manage odours.
  • Choose packaging made with recycled plastic - Did you know it takes 75% less energy to make a new bottle from recycled plastic compared with using new materials? Choose items in the shop already made from recycled packaging when you can.
  • Buy refill bottles - Items like pumps from liquid soap bottles aren't easily recycled. Instead top up your hand soap by purchasing refill bottles, which are easier to recycle with your kerbside programme.
  • Choose jars and bottles - Glass jars and plastic bottles are easily recycled at a bottle bank or as part of a kerbside programme, so choose these over laminated pouches - which can't be recycled - when you can.
  • Return plastic bags - If you use plastic carrier bags as part of your weekly shop, don't send them to landfill - many larger supermarkets will recycle them for you if you bring them back.
  • Drop when you shop - Large supermarkets often double as community recycling points, where you can dispose of recyclable items like batteries, plastic bags, textiles and more.

How to recycle your food waste

In [REGION] recycling your food waste is simple. You can recycle food waste using your [INSERT METHOD: eg. Brown wheelie bin, silver wheelie bin, silver caddy etc.]

Some items you can include:

  • Tea bags and coffee grounds
  • Uneaten food
  • Raw and cooked fish and meat including bones
  • Dairy products
  • Bread, cakes and pastries