Reduce Reuse Recycle

Suffolk has a very good record for achieving high recycling and composting rates but is striving to achieve even better rates in the future.

The Suffolk Waste Partnership (made up of the county and district and borough councils) is committed to following the model below (known as the "Waste Hierarchy") in its approach to waste management:

wastehierarchy

We all need to take responsibility for the waste we generate and try to minimise it.  Waste minimisation is at the top of the waste hierarchy and is the best management option.  After minimising our waste, we need to reuse as much of what is left as possible. Only then should we look to compost or recycle it.  How we treat the residual waste in the future is currently being looked at (see www.suffolk.gov.uk/thefutureofwaste), but it is clear that we can not continue to landfill as we have done in the past.

Suffolk County Council are involved in helping the residents of Suffolk to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle (the 3Rs) more of their waste through:

  • The School Waste Education Service including school lessons, activities and regular competitions to engage children in the 3Rs.  To book a visit, go to the schools section of www.suffolkrecycling.org.uk
  • "Recycle your mobile" scheme to raise money for local schools
  • Public roadshows and event attendance including the Suffolk Show, Spring and Autumn Garden Shows and local town roadshows.  The events section of www.suffolkrecycling.org.uk details what's coming up.
  • New "Master Composters".  Volunteers have been trained up and are supported by Suffolk County Council to encourage more people to home compost.
  • Press releases giving seasonal advice on how to reduce, reuse and recycle more waste at particular times of the year (eg Christmas and Easter when more waste is generated)
  • General information on reducing, reusing, recycling and recovery through media such as leaflets. 

Once we have reduced, reused, recycled and composted as much of our household waste as possible, there will still be some waste leftover.  This is where the "Recover" section comes in to force as we look to recover energy from this waste.

For more information visit www.suffolkrecycling.org.uk

For information on most recent progress on recycling and composting, see the Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy Annual Report 2005/6 (PDF 936Kb)