NowRecycle Blog

More and more people are finally becoming involved with recycling by composting, often with the help of a composting bin. Composting is the decomposing of plant remains and any other materials that were once living to make a dark solid substance to add to garden soil or plants. It’s a great way to recycle the waste from your garden and kitchen, and helps to reduce the amount of garbage that needs to go to rubbish dumps and landfills.

Composting is usually one of two kinds: home composting or industrial composting. They both may use a similar biological process or method, but there may be different techniques involved. Some may use the assistance of a composting bin. Often cooks in large kitchens will have a kitchen compost bin. As they cook, they will continually throw their scraps, such as potato and other vegetable peelings, leftover vegetables etc. into the composting bin.

Composting has been around for a lot longer than we actually realise. Years ago, campers would leave remnants of their food by their campsite. As it sat there, it decomposed and in time, plants began to grow there. The plants that grew had been there prior to the food being left there, but now the plants are growing more healthily and stronger than before. Another example of composting is when a family rakes the leaves on their lawn and leaves them in a big pile. Eventually they rot and become compost and the grass underneath them grows back greener than ever. Today many families choose to store their leaves in a bin they make or a commercial composting bin.

Garden and kitchen wastes make up approximately 30% of the waste in the United States – in the UK it may even be more as we tend to do more gardening! We can all do our part to reduce the amount of waste that goes to landfills, which will also help the environment we all live in. The first step is with each of us taking care of our own waste, whether it’s in our backyards or in the home. This may sound like a big deal, but it’s no different from how most of us save our drinks cans and cash them in. While we may not be cashing in our compost, you will be saving the cost of fertilizer if you grow a garden. In addition to saving money, the use of the compost will give you some excellent plants.

There are different ways to make your own compost. You may choose to use a composting bin, of which there are many kinds. Some individuals that are handy will opt to make their own with pallets or plywood. Others will choose to purchase a commercial bin. While the homemade ones may be sufficient, they usually get rotten and don’t last as long as the commercial composting bin. Commercial composting bins can be purchased as a three-bin system to put by your driveway. Many families like this style because it allows for sorting of the waste products. They also come in different sizes to fit your family needs.
In the home, the kitchen is the room that has the most waste to compost, so a kitchen compost bin would make it very easy to help the environment. Composting bins for kitchens are available in such attractive colours and sizes, you will barely know it’s there.

Editors’ notes:
NowRecycle.co.uk is a trading style of Plastic Omnium Systems Ltd - a European market leader in waste containment solutions that provides a wide range of waste containers and services including wheeled bins, litter bins, banks, composters and sacks. It is part of the International Plastic Omnium Group, a world leader in contract waste container solutions with worldwide sales of more than £1.8 billion. It employs over 9,000 people in 25 countries, across four continents, in manufacturing and service solutions for the automotive, environment and performance plastic products.
Press Contact: Simon Dutta, N European Marketing Director, Plastic Omnium Urban Systems Ltd
Telephone: 01952 582 583

When it comes to keeping the home tidy, a kitchen bin is an absolute essential. They really help you to get rid of any unwanted rubbish and to keep the kitchen area looking clean and tidy. However whilst they are an essential item to have in any home, some of them can look a little worn and tacky. The good news is that kitchen recycling bins do not have to look ugly. By realising the large variety on offer, you could end up with a nice looking bin that really suits your kitchen.

The Different Types of Kitchen Bins on Offer
On your lookout for the right bin for your kitchen, you should notice that there is quite a large selection open to you. You can even find designer bins which will make any home look and feel elegant.
The best way to find the right bin for your kitchen is by looking on the internet. You can find some great looking ones available on a number of sites and www.nowrecycle.co.uk is just one of them. You can find a number of different styles of bins within the website, including mini desktop bins, kitchen composters and even translucent bins too.
A desktop bin could really add a unique feel to the kitchen. Not many people have desktop bins, but they can come in extremely handy if they are used in households with pets. There is nothing worse than putting something such as meat in the bin, only to find it has been dragged out by the cat or your pet dog when you have left the room. So a desktop mini bin can help with this problem and they can look quite stylish too.
Designer bins come in a wide variety of styles and whilst they do tend to cost a little more than the average kitchen bin, they are still worth having in the home. If you are looking for something a little bit different, then why not consider an elegant bin? These include styles such as the ones that you see whilst you are out and about.
However if you are looking for the ultimate kitchen bin, then a translucent bin is what you should be looking for. They come in a number of different colours and they do not instantly stand out. The ugly kitchen recycling bins are usually a bright sickly colour, but translucent bins are mainly pastel coloured which looks a lot more sophisticated.
Overall you can find a bin to fit the style of your kitchen easily. There are a number of colours available to choose from and they do not all look overly obvious. If you do have pets then a mini desktop bin would come in extremely useful and it will also help to keep your kitchen looking less cluttered. Or perhaps you fancy making your kitchen look really fancy with designer bins? Bins for the kitchen really do not need to look ugly anymore. So whatever your needs and your tastes, there will always be a kitchen bin to suit your kitchen.

Editors’ notes:
NowRecycle.co.uk is a trading style of Plastic Omnium Systems Ltd - a European market leader in waste containment solutions that provides a wide range of waste containers and services including wheeled bins, litter bins, banks, composters and sacks. It is part of the International Plastic Omnium Group, a world leader in contract waste container solutions with worldwide sales of more than £1.8 billion. It employs over 9,000 people in 25 countries, across four continents, in manufacturing and service solutions for the automotive, environment and performance plastic products.
Press Contact: Simon Dutta, N European Marketing Director, Plastic Omnium Urban Systems Ltd
Telephone: 01952 582 583

A compost bin could be your way to reduce the amount of waste that you contribute to the national total. According to the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, each year UK consumers produce about 100 million tones of waste. This comes not only from households, but from industry as well. The old solution to the waste problem was to stick it in the ground, but landfill produces methane which affects the ozone layer.

Traditionally, we have lived in a throwaway society. Everything we purchase comes wrapped in layers of packaging, which is then discarded. When we shop, we put our shopping in plastic bags which are then discarded. This is changing. We all need to take responsibility for preserving the environment. In many areas, councils have introduced initiatives such as collecting recyclable waste on alternate weeks, while supermarkets have encouraged their customers to purchase reusable bags.

These initiatives alone will reduce the amount of waste produced, but you can also do your part by reducing the amount of waste you put in the bin. A compost bin is one way to achieve this goal. Much of the waste you produce in your daily routine can be composted, preserving the environment and making the soil in your garden richer and better.

So, how do you get started? The first thing you need is a compost bin – and there are some very stylish bins around. Prices are affordable, too, at around £100. Place the compost bin in an accessible location in your garden, so that you can put the waste you produce into it.

The next step is to sort out what you can put in a compost bin and what you can’t. A simple way to remember what you should exclude is to think of meat and dairy. These products are not good for composting, and cooked vegetables are out too. While it would be easier to chuck everything into your stylish bin for composting, this would not make the best compost. Nappies do not biodegrade, so you can’t put them in, and you need to get rid of dog and cat faeces in the normal way.

Enough of the don’ts; how about the dos? Most uncooked kitchen waste is suitable for composting. This includes coffee grounds and teabags, fruit and vegetable peel (raw) and egg shells. Paper products such as brown paper bags, toilet roll tubes, old newspapers and egg boxes may also be composted. Pet hair and the contents of your vacuum cleaner bag (if you have wool carpets) can also be included.

When you start off, you will have to wait six to 12 months for the compost to form. You can help the process by alternating paper products with vegetable peelings and by giving the mixture a stir from time to time. Once that has happened you will get a great mix to use for your house plants and your garden.

You will be surprised how much using a composter reduces the amount of waste that you put into the environment. The fact that a compost bin gives you a beautiful garden is a bonus.

Editors’ notes:
NowRecycle.co.uk is a trading style of Plastic Omnium Systems Ltd - a European market leader in waste containment solutions that provides a wide range of waste containers and services including wheeled bins, litter bins, banks, composters and sacks. It is part of the International Plastic Omnium Group, a world leader in contract waste container solutions with worldwide sales of more than £1.8 billion. It employs over 9,000 people in 25 countries, across four continents, in manufacturing and service solutions for the automotive, environment and performance plastic products.
Press Contact: Simon Dutta, N European Marketing Director, Plastic Omnium Urban Systems Ltd
Telephone: 01952 582 583

By having a compost bin in your garden, you are effectively helping out the environment. The advantages of having a bin instead of a compost pile include the fact that it really helps to keep pests away.

The Problem with Pests and Compost
The trouble with compost piles, which many people have experienced, is the fact that various types of pests have made a nest in them. It isn’t only pests that invade the compost however; hedgehogs also like to make their nest in them and other animals find the pests within the compost easy to catch. So not only do you have pests to deal with, but you also have to suffer with all different types of wildlife constantly taking over your garden.
That is why a compost bin comes in extremely handy. By keeping the compost in a bin, no pests or wildlife can get to it and therefore you will not have to deal with that type of problem. However, you still have to know what products you can and can’t put into the bin.

Things to Avoid Putting in the Compost Bin
If you are looking to keep the pests away and you want the most effective composters possible, you have to make sure that the right things are put into the bin.
You should never put meat or meat products, into the bin. Even though it is enclosed, small pests might still be able to get into the bin - especially flies. Also the smell will attract bigger animals and you will get wildlife coming into the garden, digging around in your compost. They could even tip the bin over if they are big and strong enough. This means that you will need to purchase a strong type of compost bin such as the “Composter”.
You will also want to avoid putting dairy products - such as cheese - into the bin. Again they will create a very strong, unpleasant smell that will attract various pests into your garden. Even if they cannot get into the bin, they can still cause damage to your garden by digging and eating plants.
A good tip to cover up any odours which may be coming from the composters includes using sawdust or other brown matter. It could be dried leaves, hay or cardboard even, just mixed on the top of the compost. That really helps to cover up the smell and it will discourage pests, such as flies, from hanging around the bin.
Wasps are also potentially a threat to a compost pile, as they like to make their nests in the warmth of the compost. They then proceed to attack you whenever you go near it and it can be a pain to get rid of them once they are settled. It is not something that you think about before you create a compost pile, but it is certainly something that you will soon find out. Overall if you do want to help the environment but you do not want any unwanted pests and wildlife taking over, then a compost bin is definitely something that you should invest in.

Editors’ notes:
NowRecycle.co.uk is a trading style of Plastic Omnium Systems Ltd - a European market leader in waste containment solutions that provides a wide range of waste containers and services including wheeled bins, litter bins, banks, composters and sacks. It is part of the International Plastic Omnium Group, a world leader in contract waste container solutions with worldwide sales of more than £1.8 billion. It employs over 9,000 people in 25 countries, across four continents, in manufacturing and service solutions for the automotive, environment and performance plastic products.
Press Contact: Simon Dutta, N European Marketing Director, Plastic Omnium Urban Systems Ltd
Telephone: 01952 582 583

Plastic Bins Help Prevent Accidents, says H&S Lab

What a story your recycling bin could tell! There’s as much to be said about what we don’t put into the waste bin as there is about what we do. Whether it’s household waste, chemical waste, industrial waste or healthcare waste, we need to put more into the recycling bin. Here are some interesting facts to illustrate the problem. Even a small effort to put something into the recycling bin will have an impact. Here’s why.

According to Waste Online, putting just two glass bottles in the recycle bin would save enough energy to make five cups of tea. And don’t put those teabags in the waste bin when you’re finished. They can be used to make wonderful compost for your garden. Glass takes a long time to break down. In fact, no one really knows exactly how long it takes, but archaeological excavations have uncovered glass remnants that are more than 3,000 years old.

When you take your car in for an oil change the old oil goes into some sort of waste bin. But if this oil were to be recycled, it could satisfy the energy needs of 1.5 million people, according to the Scottish Oil Care Campaign.

Turning on your telly? Putting a single tin can in a recycling bin could power your programmes for up to three hours, says the Recycling Guide. You could get the same amount of energy from recycling a plastic bottle as well. Plastic use is increasing, with UK consumers using 20 times more plastic than they did 50 years ago. A lot of this is thrown away, which is bad news since it can take up to 500 years for plastic to decompose.

The UK produces about 31 million tonnes of rubbish each year – that’s one tonne per household. Nappies account for about 2 per cent of this total – and there’s not much choice but to throw them away unless you use real nappies.

According to Walsall Council we throw away enough rubbish to power 5,000 hours of television, 3,000 showers or 500 baths. That’s reason enough to use a recycle bin. Every two months we empty the equivalent of our own body weight into a waste bin. It takes only two hours for the UK to produce enough waste to fill the Albert Hall and in eight months the waste we produce could fill our largest lake, Lake Windermere.

Our cardboard use is high too. The UK uses 12.5 million tonnes of paper and cardboard every year, with each person using 38kg of newspapers. At Christmas, our wrapping paper comes to 83 square km. That’s a lot of presents. The fact is that we put a lot of rubbish into waste bins and that’s why local councils are making such an effort to meet recycling targets.

Most people are willing to recycle if it easy to do so. This is the reason for having alternating collections of household and garden waste, making a recycling bin available nearby and collecting rubbish for recycling from your doorstep.

Editors’ notes:
NowRecycle.co.uk is a trading style of Plastic Omnium Systems Ltd - a European market leader in waste containment solutions that provides a wide range of waste containers and services including wheeled bins, litter bins, banks, composters and sacks. It is part of the International Plastic Omnium Group, a world leader in contract waste container solutions with worldwide sales of more than £1.8 billion. It employs over 9,000 people in 25 countries, across four continents, in manufacturing and service solutions for the automotive, environment and performance plastic products.
Press Contact: Simon Dutta, N European Marketing Director, Plastic Omnium Urban Systems Ltd
Telephone: 01952 582 583

Your gardening bin might not be your first consideration when you design your garden, but it’s still worth thinking about. Gardening bins don’t have to be ugly. These days you can have stylish translucent bins to add some flair to any garden.

Most garden designers suggest a simple approach to garden design. If you over design your garden then you run the risk of creating a cluttered space. Something between minimalist and fussy is your best bet and don’t forget to leave space to hide away your gardening bin.

If you’ve ever watched a gardening programme, then you will know that there’s far more space inside your garden than it seems. Simply clearing the clutter by pruning, trimming and uprooting will give you a lot more working space.

Consider reshaping your lawn and adding paving stones to create a seating area. If it’s near the shed you might also find a space for your gardening bin. On the other hand, you could get a pastel coloured translucent bin which matches the shade of your flowers. If you do this, there’s no need to hide it away. It will blend right in with your flowering plants.

When designing your garden, it’s worth thinking about how it will look from the house. On winter days when it’s too cold to sit outside, the view will be the only thing left to remind you of summer, so make sure it’s a good one.

For everyday use, create some hidden spaces within your garden. Okay, so you may not have the room to create a Capability Brown maze, but there’s still enough space to create a bit of mystery. One way to add to the interest of your garden is to create levels. You might keep your translucent bin or gardening bin on one level, have a pond on another, a rock garden on a third, and a seating area on a fourth. In fact, you may want to create seating on every level, so that you can enjoy all aspects of your garden.

With every level of your garden you will want to create a focal point, and this should not be the gardening bin. Instead, use a selection of plants and flowers to create an area of greenery or colour that will brighten both summer and winter days.

If you have pets, there are a few more things you can do to improve your garden. Put some paving stones or slabs to create paths for your pet to follow as they run in the garden. Or create a small pit for your dog to dig in. Watch out, though, the cat may decide to use this instead of a litter tray.

To make sure that your pets don’t dig up the whole garden, use perennials planted close together. The fewer gaps there are, the less incentive there is for them to dig. Grass and shrubs will stand up well to a mauling. Finally, ensure that the lid on your gardening bin is secure to avoid having rubbish strewn by an over enthusiastic pet.

Editors’ notes:
NowRecycle.co.uk is a trading style of Plastic Omnium Systems Ltd - a European market leader in waste containment solutions that provides a wide range of waste containers and services including wheeled bins, litter bins, banks, composters and sacks. It is part of the International Plastic Omnium Group, a world leader in contract waste container solutions with worldwide sales of more than £1.8 billion. It employs over 9,000 people in 25 countries, across four continents, in manufacturing and service solutions for the automotive, environment and performance plastic products.
Press Contact: Simon Dutta, N European Marketing Director, Plastic Omnium Urban Systems Ltd
Telephone: 01952 582 583

Your office bin could help you to be kinder to the environment. Around a third of the UK’s household waste is made up of paper, according to the government, and unless it’s recycled much of it has to be incinerated or go into landfill. However if we take more care about what we put into the office bin and actually put some paper into recycling bins instead, then we could cut down on the energy used to produce paper.

Even before you get to the point of throwing paper away, you could use paper resources more wisely by using both sides of a piece of paper before putting it into an office bin or recycling bin. Writing or printing on both sides can significantly reduce paper use – and if you’re just writing a couple of notes, there’s no rule that says you need a fresh piece of paper each time. Many modern printers print on both sides of the paper. This is a great way for an office to cut down on paper use.

Another way to reduce the amount of paper you need to recycle is to opt out of receiving junk mail by using the Mailing Preference Service. Take your name off the list and tick ‘no’ every time you are asked if a company can send you post. You will have a clearer letter box and much less paper to put in a recycling bin. Add a ‘no junk mail’ sign to your letterbox and you will also cut down on leaflets from your local Chinese and Indian restaurants and pizza delivery outlets.

Once you’ve finished with the magazines you put out for clients to read, don’t throw them into an office bin. Pick a recycling bin instead, as magazines can be recycled. The same goes for your daily newspaper and the cardboard boxes that your office supplies come in. Recycling these materials can reduce the waste from your office. Phone books can also be recycled, so don’t just throw last year’s copy in the bin.

Offices use a lot of envelopes and these tend to go in the office bin, but they don’t have to. Instead, donate them to a local charity where they can be reused with a sticky label to cover the old address. Alternatively, check that your local recycling bins will take envelopes with gummed paper and drop them off there. They may take used stickers too.

There are even more ways to recycle office material. Consider reading the online edition of your daily newspaper instead of having it delivered. Think how much paper that will save! You could also do the same with some magazines – email updates might be just as useful and far more eco friendly. Offices can also be kind to the environment by using recycled paper. Production of recycled paper is more energy efficient and so the harm to the environment is reduced. Once you’ve done this start the whole cycle again, moving paper on rather than putting it in the office bin.

Editors’ notes:
NowRecycle.co.uk is a trading style of Plastic Omnium Systems Ltd - a European market leader in waste containment solutions that provides a wide range of waste containers and services including wheeled bins, litter bins, banks, composters and sacks. It is part of the International Plastic Omnium Group, a world leader in contract waste container solutions with worldwide sales of more than £1.8 billion. It employs over 9,000 people in 25 countries, across four continents, in manufacturing and service solutions for the automotive, environment and performance plastic products.
Press Contact: Simon Dutta, N European Marketing Director, Plastic Omnium Urban Systems Ltd
Telephone: 01952 582 583

You should be proud of yourself for having a recycling bin. Clearly you are already aware of the importance of this simple, beneficial practice. Now you are left wondering how to get other people in on using UN bins. Never fear, you can make a more pronounced difference in the world around you by spreading the word and encouraging others to take part in recycling. You have plenty of sound arguments and information at your disposal. The hard part is knowing where using your information will do the most good. Here are a few ideas on how to involve others in using UN containers without becoming preachy or spending a lot of time.

You may not be aware of it, but just by having a recycling bin in your home, you are already spreading recycling awareness. The chances are good that at least one person has asked you about recycling since you first started using a UN bin. So congratulations so far, you have begun to make a difference. If you have children, they know that recycling is important to you and the odds are excellent that it is important to them as well. The seeds are planted for the next generation of environmentally concerned citizens.

Now is the time to take recycling out in the real world. One of the first places to start is at work. Especially if you work in an office, hopefully there are already plenty of recycling bins around. If not, take the initiative and contact your supervisor or appropriate person to pitch your recycling idea to. If you meet any resistance, explain how much better your company’s advertising would look if you could claim to be earth friendly. People who think like you do will appreciate knowing they are supporting a company with similar goals to their own. That should be enough to convince your superiors to give it a shot.

Another good way to send the recycling message is to join one of the many organisations and charities that focus on earth friendly practices. These types of groups make it a point to be a presence at events where many people are in attendance. Donating your time and energy to such a worthwhile cause is one very effective way to educate the uninitiated into the world of taking care of the planet. Any time you are participating in this type of activity, be sure to have a lot of examples of recycling bins available.

We already talked about leading by example in your own home. Remember to practice what you preach everyday in public as well. Pick up a piece of rubbish from the street and throw it into a recycling bin. Someone is sure to see you do it and at the minimum, it may get him or her to thinking about doing something environmentally helpful as well.

Encouraging others in the quest for a cleaner earth is a noble cause. It goes beyond simply having and using a recycling bin and moves the practice out to educate more people.

Editors’ notes:
NowRecycle.co.uk is a trading style of Plastic Omnium Systems Ltd - a European market leader in waste containment solutions that provides a wide range of waste containers and services including wheeled bins, litter bins, banks, composters and sacks. It is part of the International Plastic Omnium Group, a world leader in contract waste container solutions with worldwide sales of more than £1.8 billion. It employs over 9,000 people in 25 countries, across four continents, in manufacturing and service solutions for the automotive, environment and performance plastic products.
Press Contact: Simon Dutta, N European Marketing Director, Plastic Omnium Urban Systems Ltd
Telephone: 01952 582 583

Don’t you just love how some people will throw rubbish on the street when there is a wheelie bin right in front of them? It’s not like it’s hard to move the thing where you need it to be. This is one of the scenarios that led to the production of wheelie bins in the first place. You can find these helpful rubbish receptacles all over the place. It may not seem like a big deal, but the addition of wheels has a major impact on keeping the environment clean of debris. When you think about it, there are many situations and people that benefit from this type of rubbish bin.

Let’s think about people who aren’t really concerned about where their rubbish lands. With a wheelie bin they no longer have an excuse for not discarding their rubbish in the right way. Consider making the bin even more accessible and purchase a fluorescent bin. Now there’s no excuse for them not seeing it. Bright pink has a tendency to make itself noticed. That’s probably enough of a rant about litterers, now it’s time to move onto the importance of rubbish bin mobility.

There are all kinds of situations where a wheelie bin is useful. This type of rubbish container is perfect for outside use at home. Once it’s full or it’s rubbish collection day, it’s easy to move it to the street or wherever your rubbish is picked up. Events like festivals or fairs are great places to use wheelie bins too. They can be moved to the most travelled areas of the grounds and people are more likely to use them in these locations. Of course, this is also the perfect time to have a wheelie, fluorescent bin too. It helps to attract attention and makes finding the rubbish bin much easier. Playgrounds and parks benefit from having portable trash containers too. It’s a lot easier to empty and move them to areas of high people concentrations.

There really isn’t anyone who doesn’t benefit from having a wheelie bin conveniently located, but there are certain groups of people who benefit more than others. Rubbish containers often become heavy when full. Older and elderly people find it much easier to move their rubbish containers when they are on wheels. This kind of bin is also safer for them to use and limits the number of accidents or muscle strains an older person is subjected to. Anyone with a physical disability or injury is better off with this type of rubbish bin as well. There is no doubt the mobility of a rubbish bin is incredibly important in many different scenarios.

The next time you want your event or home’s rubbish bin to be noticed, consider going with a fluorescent model with wheels. Bin mobility is very important to ensure that rubbish finds itself in the right place instead of all over the ground. Having a wheelie bin in a convenient location and in use makes you and the environment very happy.

Editors’ notes:
NowRecycle.co.uk is a trading style of Plastic Omnium Systems Ltd - a European market leader in waste containment solutions that provides a wide range of waste containers and services including wheeled bins, litter bins, banks, composters and sacks. It is part of the International Plastic Omnium Group, a world leader in contract waste container solutions with worldwide sales of more than £1.8 billion. It employs over 9,000 people in 25 countries, across four continents, in manufacturing and service solutions for the automotive, environment and performance plastic products.
Press Contact: Simon Dutta, N European Marketing Director, Plastic Omnium Urban Systems Ltd
Telephone: 01952 582 583