Reuse & recycle | One Planet Home | B&Q

One Planet Home

Reuse

Recycling doesn't need to be difficult. We can show you how to start reusing and recycling at home and beyond.

6 tips to save money and the planet

  • 1

    Divide and conquer

    Recycling is a great way to keep waste out of landfill - and manufacturers often find that using recycled materials to make new products uses considerably less energy.

    Make life easy by using a split bin, or separate boxes, to sort and separate your home's waste ready for recycling. Set up a compost caddy in your kitchen to avoid trekking across the garden at night with potato peelings.

  • 2

    Everything in its place

    It is worth checking what can be recycled in your area as councils continue to explore new options. Find out what your local authority can recycle in your area at www.recyclenow.com.

    Take old clothing and textiles to the charity shop. Even if they are beyond wear, they will be ragged. At B&Q, we accept used batteries for recycling, so bring them along next time you visit.

  • 3

    Repurpose and reuse

    Reusing a product is always a good first option. It saves energy and carbon emissions created from transporting and recycling materials into new products.

    Convert old yoghurt pots into plant pots, transform a plastic bottle into an insect lodge, give leftover lining paper to the kids to draw on….

  • 4

    Choose recycled

    Feel good by helping to prevent waste. You can find all sorts of recycled goods for your home, from underlay made from old clothing to water butts made from recycled plastic on diy.com.

    B&Q's kitchen cabinets are made from a blend of recycled wood and Forest Friendly timber sourced within 90 miles of the factory. When the units are delivered, lorries pick up waste wood on the return journey ready for recycling.

  • 5

    DIY Compost

    Compost waste to produce a high-quality soil conditioner. You can compost veg peelings, plant clippings, leaves, coffee grounds, tea bags - and even corrugated cardboard.

    Keep your composting tidy with a compost bin

  • 6

    Make do and mend

    Rather than throwing away broken items, it is often cheaper to repair instead.

    B&Q's You Can Do It Classes can help you to build up your DIY skills and confidence, making repairs seem less daunting.

    We've also got advice on replacing a broken tile, fixing a dripping tap, and mending a broken fence.

What are B&Q doing to reduce waste?

Landfill's rubbish – and at B&Q, we're working hard to compost, reduce, reuse and recycle as much of our waste as we can. We are aiming to get the tonnage of waste we send to landfill down to less than 2% by 2023 (based on 2006 tonnage).

  • We've decreased the amount of waste we generate by 23% since 2006.
  • We've reduced the amount of waste we send to landfill by 86% since 2006 by reducing, composting and recycling.
  • We've introduced reusable packaging for our home delivered worktops, saving 1,200 tonnes of cardboard saved every year.

B&Q's One Planet Home® programme is an award winning environmental scheme that has been designed to help our customers to make greener choices for their homes and to ensure that our business operates sustainably and responsibly.

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