Reduce and Recycle

The recycling circle, reduce, re-use, recycle is only as good as the consumer. There would be no need for the kitchen or garden waste collections if we all did our own composting, dealing with waste at source. We would benefit from less traffic on the roads and from richer soil and we should also benefit from reduced council tax. Meanwhile, local councils are aiming to meet government recycling targets with kerbside collections of more durable materials. These need to be supported to make them viable, but ideally they would not be necessary. Reducing the amount of waste we produce is the best alternative - from carrying canvas shopping bags or baskets rather than picking up more plastic bags, from buying food with less packaging to using emails rather than printouts. It's often tempting to think we need a new tool or appliance which in reality might only be used once or twice in which case it may be worth hiring or borrowing it. LETS is a great way to do this as are local hire companies.

If you can't repair and reuse, another option is to buy second hand and this can cover anything from building materials to clothes. Scrap yards, car boot sales, jumble and garage sales generaly offer excellent rummaging. They are cheap, cheerful and it's still possible to pick up the odd undetected gem. There's also the local press for items wanted and for sale.

In order to make recycling viable we need to buy products that have been made from recycled materials and these are becoming increasingly widespread, technologically innovative and beautiful, for example much of the work by local artists. Offices can change from plastic cups to mugs but also buy pencils and pens made from the same recycled cups. The UK's balance of payments would be boosted if we all made more effort to use recycled paper and the world's forests would be better safeguarded.

One local company looked in their bin and took action to reduce certain waste streams and this resulted in them generating additional unforeseen profit rather than paying for waste disposal. Looking in your bin can be a first step - if it's full of milk cartons use your milkman; if it's full of packaging, use a local shop or change products. Eventually we might all pay less by causing less environmental damage.

There are 45 entries in this category. To view an entry's details, click on their name or on its 'more' link.

Antique World (Guide entry)

Sell antique and old furniture from the shop in Cinderford. Also some bric-a-brac. Traditional upholstery using horsehair, straw and leather. Main business is restoring antiques and old furniture including reupholstery, paintings, glass, clocks, mirrors and porcelain. "We provide a full restoration ... more

ATC Monmouthshire Ltd (Guide entry)

Reclaimed flooring bought and sold. SALVO coded dealer meaning that stolen and other items are carefully avoided. Mainly salvage from public buildings: schools, hospitals, village halls and from anywhere worldwide. Also supply worldwide. Mainly oak and elm but also good strip floors such as pine map... more

Biffa (Guide entry)

Be Paper Wise... more

Book Exchange (Guide entry)

Excellent selection of second-hand majazines, journals and books. People welcome to come in, bring their old books, take second-hand books and make a donation or just drop off their old mags and books, especiallly if recent editions! Good childrens's section. Located in Cantilupe Road... more

Bra recycling (Guide entry)

Bras can now be taken for recycling to the District Council offices, district leisure centres and Tesco in Lydney. For every tonne collected £1000 is donated to Breast Cancer Awareness.... more

Brintons Dairies (Guide entry)

Order a pinta delivered direct to you. Organic milk available. Deliveries in Ruspidge, Soudley, Cinderford.... more

Cancer Research UK (Guide entry)

National charity that recycles clothes, books, bric-a-brac etc... more

Cartridge recycling (Guide entry)

Last year 55 million Cartridges were sold in the UK and 85% were thrown away! If you would like to start reducing the amount of waste going to landfill and start recycling, please contact us to inform us which of the following FREE collection containers you would like: - Freepost Sealing Pouch (... more

Dean Community Composting (Guide entry)

Weekly kerbside collection of kitchen waste in the Newnham taken back to composting site and recycled using traditional windro methods and developing compost tumblers. Work is currently being funded by the Forest of Dean Partnership and Awards for All for a survey to assess the viability of tota... more

Dial-A-Ride (Guide entry)

Charity shop to fund Dial-A-Ride... more

Electrical items collected (Guide entry)

Scrap electrical items collected and recycled free of charge. Hoovers, cookers, washing machines, Hi Fi, computer kit etc. Anything electrical, domestic or commercial - sorry no fridge freezers. We will do our best to collect within 24 hours in Coleford/Lydney/Cinderford and surrounding areas... more

Elemental Solutions (Guide entry)

We design and consult for wastewater treatment systems. This has developed to water saving equipment and water reuse systems. We sell Ifo Sanitar low water use WCs. Member of AECB, The Water Association, IWA, ATA. We give tours and sometimes courses.... more

Fairtide Re-Cycling (Guide entry)

Fairtide Recycling provides highly-valued part-time paid employment in their workshop for 25 clients from the Fairtide Centre. The work involves operating specialised shredding and crushing equipment, sorting and collecting waste and delivering a range of products. About 20 tonnes of waste is ... more

Forest Cat (Guide entry)

To raise money to help local cats; re-homing, fostering and associated costs (food, litter, pens).... more

Forest Freecycle (Profile)

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Forestfreecycle The Freecycle Network™ is made up of many individual groups across the globe. It's a grassroots and entirely non-profit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. Each local group is moderated by local volunte... more

Forest of Dean District Council (Guide entry)

Offers a domestric kerbside collection for cans, glass containers, aluminium, paper and green garden waste. We partner other local authorities in campaigns to reduce waste and to promote more sustainable ways of dealing with it. Waste management is something that affects the whole community and ... more

Get It Sorted! (Guide entry)

The Gloucestershire Get It Sorted Waste Campaingn is funded by the Gloucestershire Waste Action trust and is working in partnership with the seven local authorities to promote waste reduction, recycling and composting. As a county we produce a staggering 260,000 tonnes of household rubbish every yea... more

Gloucestershire Resource Centre (Guide entry)

A practical organisation providing resuse materials, equipment, training and support for people who work in the arts, play and education. A membership system operates. - Scrapstrore offering a range of wild and fantastic materials saved from landfill - Shop selling low cost art, craft and multi-cu... more

Great Oaks-Dean Forest Hospice (Guide entry)

Charity shop selling most things except furniture and electrical items. Will take spare plastic bags. The aim of the hospice is to provide day care and support to anyone who has been diagnosed with a life threatening illness. It will seek to maximise the quality of life of those people in the Forest... more

Greenmoor Environmental Recycling Service (Guide entry)

A Company specialising in the collection, reclamation and recycling of bulky household and garden items, servicing the Forest of Dean District. Items can include for example: mattresses, fridges, wardrobes, white electrical goods, bikes. Approximately 25% of items collected are beyond use and are b... more

Hemplan Design Ltd. (Guide entry)

Working equipment taken and a new use found for it, faulty equipment from monitors and mice to printers and bases repaired and resold as sub-assemblies or complete units. What cannot be fixed or re-used is stripped down and re-cycled. No charge for taking equipment. Systems available to charities a... more

Hippo The Water Saver (Guide entry)

A simple proven and low cost alternative to help save water in toilet cisterns. Every time a toilet is flushed a hippo saves approximately 3 litres of water meaning a significant and sustained saving on your bills for those with meters. Since 1997 we have made a combined saving equivalent to 20 Olym... more

Juins Stevens (Guide entry)

From her studio in Blakeney, Juins creates a range of designs including candle holders, lamps and herb driers. Each piece is handcrafted from recycled copper making each item unique.... more

Keymood UK Ltd (Guide entry)

Recycle CDs, electronic equipment such as photocopiers, printers, computers, TVs, fax machines mostly by agreement with manufacturers to whom recycled materials are generally returned for remanufacture. Also some recycling of cardboard and paper for companies by agreement.... more

Mailing preference Service (Guide entry)

Removes name from "junk mail" listings.... more

Mobile phones (Guide entry)

Old and unwanted mobiles and their chargers (or charges) can now be taken to Great Oaks Hospice shops in Cinderford, Coleford, Lydney and Newent. The charity receives £3 for each phone donated.... more

New and Used Furniture Centre (Guide entry)

We repair, clean and recycle house contents and garden furniture. Delivery and collection in The Forest, Monmouth, Ross and Chepstow. All our second-hand furniture is given an "MOT" before being resold.... more

Newent Association For the Disabled (Guide entry)

Local Charity supporting Sheppard House, our local day centre for the elderly and physically disabled. We also support the dial-a-ride buses which are based at the day centre. We have no paid staff and aim to increase our takings to enable further development at the centre, eg. bathrooms, chiropody... more

OfficeStar Group Ltd (Guide entry)

If you would like to start reducing the amount of waste going to landfill and start recycling, please contact us to inform us which of the following FREE collection containers you woul dlike: - Freepost Sealing Pouch (up to 2 inkjet cartridges) - Shoebox (up to 20 inkjet cartridges) - Floor st... more

Orchard Furniture and Recycling Service (Guide entry)

Low cost furniture for sale. Warehouse open to the public Tues - Fri 10.00 am - 2.00pm Donations via Forest of Dean Council please... more

Plastic bottles - Newent, Coleford, Lydney (Guide entry)

Plastic bottle reycling banks will now be sited in Lydney, Coleford and Newent. Types 1 and 2 - identifiable at the bottom of the bottle - will be sent to Delleve Plastics Ltd, Stratford where they are reprocessed and made into everyday re-usable objects such as park benches, garden furniture. All... more

Platinum Consulting Ltd (Guide entry)

Supply of 2nd user, ex-corporate computer hardware to individuals and businesses. Computer hardware recycling. Computer hardware and software advice/consultancy. We aim to ensure you buy what you need rather than what someone else wants to sell you.... more

Rainharvesting Systems (Guide entry)

We design and supply systems for harvesting, storing and reusing rainwater - commercial and domestic - water efficient equipment, toilets, flush units and valves - water filtering and purification systems - metal guttering systems - pumps and control equipment - solar pumps and controls for water su... more

Real Nappy Laundry and Ecologicaly alternative Products (Guide entry)

South Wales Nappies offers a Real Nappy Laundry, Hire and Retail service which has now expanded into Gloucestershire. We offer free home consultations to discuss various washable nappies and the options available to parents. In addition to real nappies we also offer home delivery of Ecover refills... more

Recycling plastics in Cinderford (Guide entry)

Milk, drinks, shampoo bottles can now be recycled at the Old engelhards Car Park, Valley Road, Cinderford - opposite the one stop shop. Dec 07... more

Reign Beau Ltd. (Guide entry)

Antique silver repair and restoration and re-plating of EPNS and other silver plated items... more

Sims Metal UK Ltd. (Guide entry)

Scrap metal recycler processing steel and aluminium cans for local waste contractors. Provides skips for companies for industrial and car batteries and scrap metal. Also registered to deal with fridge/freezers. Will take aluminium, brass, copper and all non-ferrous metals, including from the public.... more

Smiths of the Forest of Dean Ltd (Guide entry)

Plastic and wooden water butts from £7. Plastic tanks from £35. Wooden pallets from 50p. Scrap pallets free.... more

Sue Ryder Care (Guide entry)

Our shops are run to help keep our homes running which are for the terminally ill. Also day care centres in our homes to give carers days of rest. We have a local care home at Leckhampton Court near Gloucester. Sue Ryder's aims are to inspire and support people with disabilities and life threate... more

The Furniture Recycling Project (Guide entry)

This is a charity set up in 1996. It's remit is to work towards overcoming hardship and social exclusion through the provision of furniture and personal development opportunities from its bases in Gloucester and Stroud. It provides safe, clean affordable furniture and household items throughout Glo... more

Tools For Self Reliance (Guide entry)

Collecting, refurbishing hand tools to send to Africa. Collecting, refurbishing garden tools for fundraising in the UK. Local workshops at the Ryefield Centre, Ross-on-Wye (01989 567653 Mon-Fri 10-4pm) and TFSR Cymru, Standard St, Crickhowell (Fri/Sat 10.30-12.30am). Volunteers always needed in Ro... more

Vision Aid Overseas (Guide entry)

We collect second hand spectactles in the UK and send them overseas with eyecare teams who diagnose sight defects and dispense the spectacles. We train in-country optical workers in basic eye-testing techniques and set up optical workshops with a view to helping countries towards self-suffiency (200... more

Voluntary Social Aid (Guide entry)

We are a local Charity donating to local causes and supplying goods at reasonable prices to local people.... more

Waste Exchange UK (Guide entry)

We help companies and organisations to turn waste into profit by allowing them to contact eachother over the internet. A Company's waste stream is often of benefit to another individual or company (eg packaging materials, glass, etc), thus they can reduce the amount of materials ending up in landfi... more

Yer Tiz (Guide entry)

Buy and sell second-hand furniture, household removals and house clerances. Shop YER TIZ in Lydney sells furniture, bric-a-brac, linen, household goods and garden tools.... more

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Studies show that 50-80,000 new jobs could be created in recycling and waste management in the UK. (Earthmatters, spring 2007)