Post a few everyday things to help the environment

[RosieC]

Don't be a fashion victim and always buy new clothes, and if you do then give them to charity collections when you get rid of them. And if like me you wear most things until they are actually worn out, find a rag collection that will recycle the clothes.

Don't use pesticides, especially those known to kill bees, unless you really can't find an alternative, and then use them in a place where bees are unlikely (for example if I really have to I might use a pesticide in the greenhouse and keep the plant there a while before taking it back outside).

Don't assume all bugs are bad (possibly a controversial one here but hey...). Some bugs, including some bugs found in orchid pots are good.

Leave an area of your garden 'wild'. Long grass and other plants, possibly pieces of old wood breaking down, so that insects and even small animals can have a safe haven.

Don't be too ready to dead head flowering shrubs. Many insects including ladybirds (ladybugs to those elsewhere in the world) will winter in them if they are left. Do the pruning in the spring once they have moved on instead. (I made the mistake the first year with my budliea and pruned in the autumn and found masses and masses of ladybirds crawling out of the cutting pile. I'm talking 50+ from one shrub. I've always left it for them since).

Grow plants that are good for wildlife, for birds, for bees, for other insects. Catoniasta is something that was put in our garden before we moved in, and it is great for bees in the summer and birds in the winter, we keep trying to find other plants that attract wildlife.

Compost as much as you can, and if your council (like ours) does a hot compost scheme then use it for the stuff you can't home compost (weeds that will survive a cold compost, and cooked food/bones). Our council collects these from the doorstep making it easier of course.

Don't complain when the council wants to collect less refuse, but more recycling from the doorstep. Especially when they make it as easy as possible for you to just shove all the recycling in a special bin that they supply you with. (So many people round here complaining about that )

[mexorchid]

Originally Posted by RosieC

Don't complain when the council wants to collect less refuse, but more recycling from the doorstep. Especially when they make it as easy as possible for you to just shove all the recycling in a special bin that they supply you with. (So many people round here complaining about that )

Living abroad has shown me many great things but like you I'm wondering about how much recycling waste goes into the normal trash. In my home country every apartment block has a trash bin for paper, plastic, compost, in every supermarket are bins for glass and metal, tetra pack is picked up from your house. If you put the wrong thing in the wrong bin - like you would put a stack of newspapers into the normal trash - they will NOT empty your trash until you've sorted it into the right bin. This has all developed over not such long time, about 15 years from no sorting system to everybody recycling.
Shows me how much is possible with the right education
Here in Canada it's so easy too! Just 1 bin and you can put all the paper/metal/glass/tetra pack recycling

[RosieC]

For us they don't refuse the general refuse if the wrong thing is in it BUT there is a limit on how much they take, the bin is a standard model they supply, they won't take any other and they can refuse it if the lid won't close because it's too full and won't take extra bags or anything. Lots of people here don't seem to want to bother with the recycling bin, but when it's made easier than disposing of excess waste themselves it seems to have started being used more.