Residents in Oxfordshire are the best in England for recycling, reusing and composting. The total amount of household waste produced by each household for 2022/23 was 278,732 tonnes with 159,732 being reused, recycled or composted.
And out of 210 waste collection authorities in England, South Oxfordshire District Council was TOP, with 61.6% of waste being recycled!
Household recycling includes glass, metal, paper and cardboard, as well as some plastics. Plastics you can recycle at home include drinks bottles with the tops on, food and drinks cartons, food trays (including black ones), ice cream tubs, large sweet tubs, margarine tubes, plastic milk cartons and bottles, yoghurt pots and carrier bags, whilst soft plastics can be recycled at the Co-op in Watlington or Tesco in Henley. Please make sure that your recycling is clean in order to avoid the risk of contaminating the rest of the recycling.
In addition, there are Tetrapak and crisp packet recycling at the Parish Office, and don't forget it is better to reuse, regift or repair items - by making use of our wonderful Mercy in Action charity shop and Facebook Waste Not Want Not group.
The best option where practical is of course to avoid packaging in the first place the resource charity WRAP has calculated 21,500 tonnes of plastic could be avoided if packaged fruit and veg were sold loose.
You can help reduce waste by shopping for loose vegetables at the Undercroft, stocking up at So Sustainable, having milk delivered in reusable bottles, bringing your own containers, and supporting all our Plastic Free Champions on the High Street - look out for the sign!
Finally, you can win a £100 voucher by entering this quiz on reducing your waste - take the quiz here.