Cut costs and help save the planet with easy ways to minimise household waste

WE each bin five times our own body weight in waste a year.

That astonishing stat is especially relevant in Zero Waste Week — running right now as part of a push to limit our impact on the environment.

Recycling should be second nature by nowCredit: Getty – Contributor

Here are some easy ways to cut down your household’s waste.

REDUCE IT: The less food you throw away and the more recycling you do, the fewer bin bags you need.

Supermarket own-brand bags can cost £2.25 for 20, or 11p a bag. Using two fewer bags a week saves you 88p a month.

SAVE: £9.60 per year

RE-PACK IT: The average shopper will use 13,000 plastic bags in their lifetime. At 10p a pop, that would add up to a worrying £1,300!

Instead, take your own shopping tubs or boxes that fit in your car boot.

Transfer shopping from the till to the tubs and load up. Easy to carry your shopping into the house, too.

SAVING: Up to £1,300

RECHARGE IT: A pack of four AA batteries costs around £4. But you can pick up rechargeable batteries for around £8.99 a pack on eBay.

If you use a pack a month, say, the normal batteries will cost you £16 over four months.

Over four months the rechargeable ones will earn you back the initial outlay.

SAVE: £3 a month

RE-POST IT: Instead of buying envelopes or parcel wrap, open the mail you receive carefully and reuse the packaging.

A4 padded envelopes cost around £1.50 apiece, so six a year would be £9. Reuse and they are free.

SAVE: £1.50 a time on padded envelopes

REUSE IT: We spend a bundle on wipes and kitchen roll. But this is literally throwing money away.

Buy two rolls of Plenty kitchen roll for £3.75 at Asda when you do your big shop — or get a two-pack of reusable microfibre cloths for just £1.20.

SAVE: £2.55 per shop

Prices correct at time of press. Deals/offers subject to availability

Deal of the day

Get a set of Scoville pans for half-price in George at Asda's 'back to uni' sale — Get a set of Scoville pans for half-price in George at Asda’s ‘back to uni’ sale

GEORGE at Asda has launched a “back to uni” sale. Pick up a set of Scoville pans for just £20, down from £40.

SAVE: £20

Cheap treat

TREAT yourself to a bottle of Freixenet Cordon Rosado Seco from Tesco, on offer for £8. Usually £11.

SAVE: £3

Top swap

There's no need to spend £2.10 on a 415g box of Shreddies at Tesco... — There’s no need to spend £2.10 on a 415g box of Shreddies at Tesco…

...when a 625g box of similar-tasting Mighty Malties are only 79p at Morrisons — …when a 625g box of similar-tasting Mighty Malties are only 79p at Morrisons

SHREDDIES are £2.10 for a 415g box at Tesco, but at Morrisons you can get a 625g box of Mighty Malties for 79p. I can barely taste the difference.

SAVE: £1.31 and get 50 per cent more cereal

Giselle’s little helper

KEEP your dog happy and calm with a “comfort coat” from B&M stores, available in a range of sizes for £6.

The pressure of the coat comforts the dog, giving a calming effect like a baby being swaddled.

Ideal if your pet is scared of thunder and fireworks – though it might not be effective with all dogs.

Shop and save

Treat the kids to the Disney Frozen 2 colour-in puppet theatre for £13

SAVE £5 on the Disney Frozen 2 colour-in puppet theatre at Hobbycraft. It’s now £13, down from £18.

SAVE: £5

Hot right now

DRESS for less this autumn with up to 30 per cent reductions on selected items at jdwilliams.co.uk.

Get 2 FREE tickets worth up to £60 to SEA LIFE with Sun Superdays

HAVE a free day out at a SEA LIFE Aquarium with two tickets worth up to £60, thanks to Sun Superdays.

Choose from TEN Aquariums – London, Birmingham, Manchester, Brighton, Weymouth, Hunstanton, Loch Lomond, Blackpool, Great Yarmouth and Scarborough.

Take the family to SEA LIFE with Sun Superdays

At SEA LIFE Weymouth, see the UK’s first fairy penguin colony, the smallest penguins in the world. And experience Night and Day, the 24-hour wonder of a coral reef in the re-imagined 180-degree Ocean Tunnel display.

To get your free tickets, follow these simple steps:

Download the Sun Savers app or sign up at sunsavers.co.uk.
Go to the ‘Offers’ section and click ‘Start Collecting’ on the ‘Sun Superdays’ page. Then collect NINE Sun Savers codes from those printed daily in the paper until Tuesday, September 22. Today’s Sun Savers code is on Page 20 of The Sun.
Scan or enter your NINE Sun Savers codes on the app or website, then click ‘Book’ before midnight on Monday, October 5. Booking opens 9am on September 13.
You will receive an email with a unique code and details of how to book your tickets.

Or, collect TEN printed tokens and book using the form at thesun.co.uk/superdays. Today’s token is on Page 14 of The Sun.

Only Sun Savers get priority booking, with the first pick of the best dates and time slots.

T&Cs: 18+ UK only (exc. Isle of Man & Channel Islands). Multiple token/code collect. Subject to availability (5,576 tickets available during school and bank holidays. 18,988 weekend tickets available). Other T&Cs apply, see thesun.co.uk/superdays.