Reducing plastics in Oxford

In recent times, there has been a great deal of emphasis on reducing plastics in Oxford.  This is not just a problem for Oxford, but the rest of the UK and the world.  This is a problem that we have created by using single use plastics.  There are solutions we can implement to reduce this crisis that we find ourselves in, but we all need to do our bit.

Who’s doing their bit?

Waitrose has introduced a refill trial scheme where you can take your own containers, it will be interesting to see the figures that this trial produces.  They are first trialing this in their Botley road shop, in Oxford.  They are also introducing an ‘unpacked’ idea that potentially could save hundreds of thousands of tonnes of plastic waste a year.  I hope this idea really takes off and other supermarkets follow suit.

Some Statistics

Just as a guide from 2000 to 2010 alone we used more plastic than we did during the entire last century, just in 10 years.

New ideas

Every week across the country the councils collect thousands of tonnes of single use plastics from their doorstop rounds.  We must start to act now to reduce this waste.

There have been some innovative new concepts introduced to try and tackle this, but people are still driven by price and convenience.  Some of these new ideas are expensive and not all households can afford to make these changes, even for the greater good.

For example, there are now refill shops popping up, which is great news, but sadly they can be more expensive than the cost of traditional single use plastic purchases.

Doing your bit

There are many ways we can all do our bit, without it costing the earth.  Try to buy less plastic items, reuse water bottles or purchase a refillable bottle.

With regards to your blue bin collection, try to ensure you recycle as much as you can and only place clean items in the bin, otherwise this can contaminate the entire bin.

Oxford County Council, are committed to reducing plastics in Oxford,  they have a great website which is very informative regarding plastic recycling in the county, the website has very clear pictures on how to do packaging tests to ensure your plastics are recyclable and can go into your blue recycling bin.

If you have items that can’t go in your normal bins, here at Findaskip we provide local skip hire in and around Oxford.  Take a look at our prices here by entering your post code in the ‘Step 1 box’ alternatively give us a call on 0800 019 4530.