Latest guideWhich wrapping paper can be recycled? Use the scrunch testPlain paper usually goes in the recycling, while foil, glitter and plastic-coated wrap do not. A 10-second scrunch test sorts most of it, and here is what to do with tape, ribbon, gift bags and tissue paper, plus how to avoid the problem next year.Read the guide →
Latest guideHow much ham or beef for Christmas dinner? Portions that cut food wasteChristmas food waste often comes from two big meals in two days plus a house full of cookies. How much ham or beef to buy per guest, how to plan across December 24 and 25 together, and the date your leftovers need to be eaten or frozen.Read the guide →
Latest guideReal or artificial Christmas tree: which one wastes less?If you already own an artificial tree, keep using it. If not, a real tree that gets chipped or composted usually creates less waste and carbon than a new artificial tree used for only a few years. The numbers, and how to make either kind better.Read the guide →
Latest guideUse the whole pumpkin: seeds, puree and what to compostNearly all of a cooking pumpkin can be eaten, and the part that cannot still has somewhere better to go than the bin. One rule matters more than the rest: never can the puree at home.Read the guide →
Latest guideThanksgiving with less food waste: how much to cook per guestMost Thanksgiving food waste is not thrown out on Thursday. It goes the following week, from a fridge full of a meal cooked for twelve when eight came. The amounts to plan per guest, and what to do with the rest.Read the guide →
Latest guideThe ten-minute pantry check that stops food going out of dateOlder jars hide behind new shopping until they expire. Sort one shelf at a time, put the oldest at the front and keep a use-soon basket to cut food waste without buying less.Read the guide →
Latest guideTurn vegetable scraps into stock before you compost themSave clean onion skins, carrot peelings and celery ends in a freezer bag, simmer them into free stock, then compost what is left. What to save, what to skip and how to cook it.Read the guide →
Latest guideHow to freeze leftovers so you actually eat them laterCool leftovers fast, freeze them flat in meal-sized portions with the air pressed out, label them, and eat the oldest first. A simple routine that stops freezer waste.Read the guide →
Latest guideMend your clothes: easy repairs that cut textile wasteSew on a button, fix a hem, close a seam and darn a hole by hand. Small repairs keep clothes in use and out of the waste bin.Read the guide →
Latest guideHow to prepare recycling so it actually gets recycledCheck local rules, empty and rinse containers, keep items loose and keep batteries out: simple recycling habits that stop good material going to waste.Read the guide →
Latest guideHow to store fruit and vegetables so they last longerKeep ripening fruit away from greens, use your crisper drawers and know what stays out of the fridge to waste less fresh produce.Read the guide →
Latest guideCut packaging waste with reusable swapsReusable swaps that cut packaging waste at home, and how to switch without buying a lot of new things.Read the guide →Practical, no-guilt guides
Practical ways to waste less at home
Plain paper usually goes in the recycling, while foil, glitter and plastic-coated wrap do not. A 10-second scrunch test sorts most of it, and here is what to do with tape, ribbon, gift bags and tissue paper, plus how to avoid the problem next year.
Christmas food waste often comes from two big meals in two days plus a house full of cookies. How much ham or beef to buy per guest, how to plan across December 24 and 25 together, and the date your leftovers need to be eaten or frozen.
If you already own an artificial tree, keep using it. If not, a real tree that gets chipped or composted usually creates less waste and carbon than a new artificial tree used for only a few years. The numbers, and how to make either kind better.
Nearly all of a cooking pumpkin can be eaten, and the part that cannot still has somewhere better to go than the bin. One rule matters more than the rest: never can the puree at home.
Most Thanksgiving food waste is not thrown out on Thursday. It goes the following week, from a fridge full of a meal cooked for twelve when eight came. The amounts to plan per guest, and what to do with the rest.
Older jars hide behind new shopping until they expire. Sort one shelf at a time, put the oldest at the front and keep a use-soon basket to cut food waste without buying less.
Save clean onion skins, carrot peelings and celery ends in a freezer bag, simmer them into free stock, then compost what is left. What to save, what to skip and how to cook it.
Cool leftovers fast, freeze them flat in meal-sized portions with the air pressed out, label them, and eat the oldest first. A simple routine that stops freezer waste.
Sew on a button, fix a hem, close a seam and darn a hole by hand. Small repairs keep clothes in use and out of the waste bin.
Check local rules, empty and rinse containers, keep items loose and keep batteries out: simple recycling habits that stop good material going to waste.
Keep ripening fruit away from greens, use your crisper drawers and know what stays out of the fridge to waste less fresh produce.
Reusable swaps that cut packaging waste at home, and how to switch without buying a lot of new things.
