12 New Year’s Resolutions to Reduce Waste

The beginning of a new year is a popular time to set goals for the coming 12 months. Businesses update targets while many people renew gym memberships and try to stay away from cigarettes, chocolate, or other vices. January feels like a fresh start for making behavioural changes.

Beyond the traditional tried and tested New Year’s resolutions, why not aim for something that benefits the environment this year? Reducing waste is important for businesses and households across the world. Setting a few simple goals helps keep you on track with just some small behavioural tweaks needed to reach them.

Get started with our 12 New Year’s resolutions to reduce waste – one for every month of the year. Each goal helps protect the planet but may also save your business or household money. Choose your favourites, do them all, or try one a month, whichever method you prefer should make a positive difference.

In the modern digital world is there much need for paper? Request online rather than paper bank statements, read eBooks as opposed to hard or paperbacks, and opt for an email receipt wherever possible. Take a bag when you go shopping or collect a takeaway to avoid being given items in a paper bag.

Many offices can reduce their number of printers to minimise the amount of pointless documents printed out and paper wasted. Making it less convenient to print off posters or other items should ensure staff think twice before doing so. Move from paper to online pay cheques too.

Strive to buy as many things as you can second hand. This avoids the items going to waste, saves on energy and resources to create new products, and is always cheaper. Scour charity shops or online marketplaces such as Gumtree, Vinted, and eBay for clothes, furniture, cooking equipment, suitcases, games, and almost anything else you need.

Avoid the impulse to throw something away as soon as there’s a slight issue with it. Lost a button on a shirt? Sew a new one on. Snapped the handle off your favourite mug? Stick it back on with some glue. You can always take items in need of repair to professionals such as a tailor, cobbler, or electrician.

Businesses can offer discounts on damaged goods, whether it’s superficial damage to the packaging, a part missing, or something with a minor crack or blemish. Alternatively, find ways to improve and upcycle slightly damaged things by adding a fresh coat of paint, accessories, or using other creative methods.

A great way to deal with food waste is to start a compost pile. If you’ve got a garden or even just a small back yard you could buy a compost bin or create your own heap. This is a natural way to recycle waste food and create fertiliser. Learn how to compost.

Try to throw as little rubbish as possible into your general waste bin. Aim to check anything you’re about to dispose of with general waste and work out if you can recycle or reuse it. If you can’t recycle it in your household recycling bin, make a pile for items to take to your local household waste recycling centre (HWRC).

Workplaces should make a New Year’s resolution to increase recycling rates too. An easy way to start this is by introducing more recycling bins for different materials that are easy to access. Consider separate bins for cardboard, plastic, glass, metal, and food waste – or smaller businesses can combine with one dry mixed recycling bin.

Aim to avoid buying anything that can’t be recycled, reused, or donated. Stay away from food, electrical items, clothes, and other goods in non-recyclable packaging and any items made from non-recyclable materials like certain plastics. Over time you’ll start to make it a habit to check if something is recyclable or reusable, gradually giving them up.