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Enjoy a zero waste barbecue this bank holiday weekend

Bins, Waste and Recycling
14:08, Wednesday, 26th August 2020

As we head towards the bank holiday weekend, many people will be looking at the weather forecast hoping the rain will end, allowing them to bring out the barbecue and fire up the grill.

According to the National BBQ Association, the average family has nine barbecues during the summer and spends around £35 on food and drink each time.

When planning a barbecue, why not set yourself the challenge of having zero waste?

Not sure where to start? Here are just a few ideas and tips of how it can be done.

Shop local and only buy what you need. Supermarket meat packs are usually on polystyrene trays that cannot be recycled.

Use meat that has been frozen first as it cannot be re-frozen, and pop any leftover fresh meat you have in your freezer, ready for next time.

Use leftover meat to make sandwiches, curries and casseroles. A great way to ensure that leftover food is eaten and you have the next few meals already sorted.

Any leftover raw vegetables, fruit and salad can help make the perfect compost, so just add them to your pile in your composter.

Use real crockery and cutlery, which can be washed and reused. Paper plates with food on and plastic cutlery cannot be recycled so they become general waste.

Use cloth napkins instead of paper napkins. Disposable barbecues might be great for convenience but cannot be recycled.

Drinks cans, glass bottles and clean aluminium foil can all be recycled in your green box.

Households can have more than one green box or alternatively cans and tins can be left in carrier bags beside your green box. Glass placed in carrier bags cannot be collected for health and safety reasons.

Put any plastic bottles, pots, tubs, trays and waxed cartons in your burgundy bin.