The really easy guide to recycling and repurposing at home (plus a few things you might not have thought of..)

Each household produces around 1 tonne of rubbish every year. 

And that amount is increasing all the time.

We can’t continue to landfill or burn it forever, but sometimes the scale of the problem can seem overwhelming. But there’s plenty we can do to make a real difference.

Here at Tiny Box we’re passionate about recycling, in fact we built our reputation on it. We work hard to provide you with beautiful packaging which doesn’t cost the earth.

Paper’s our business. We’re aware that it accounts for a huge amount of household and commercial waste which all has to be buried somewhere unless we recycle it. Did you know a typical family in the UK uses 6 trees’ worth of paper each year? On an average Sunday in Britain 90% of newspapers are thrown away as opposed to recycled, that's equivalent to an astounding half a million trees going into landfill.

The recycling process uses considerably less energy because the main energy consumption involves turning the wood into pulp. By recycling, the paper is much more easily turned into pulp, meaning much less energy is consumed by paper mills - approximately 70% less energy. Every tonne of recycled paper saves 4000KW of energy.

Our commitment to recycling doesn’t end at work. We like to walk the talk at home too.

So we’ve been looking at quicks recycling wins at home – some we knew others we had overlooked. Thanks to our friends at Recycling.gov for these nuggets.

Bathroom blitz

There are lots of items in the bathroom waiting to be recycled that can make a huge difference. For instance, if everyone in the UK recycled one toothpaste box, it would save enough energy to run a fridge in over 2,000 homes for a year. Toothpaste boxes, toilet roll tubes, plastic shampoo and conditioner bottles, bathroom cleaners - rinse and replace the trigger spray.

Recycling in the bedroom

No, not as bad as it sounds. The bedroom is recycling gold. If everyone in the UK recycled one aluminium deodorant aerosol, enough energy would be saved to run a TV in over 151,000 homes for a year. Items to look out for include: empty tissue boxes, old magazines, empty deodorant aerosols and hairspray - ensure empty and remove plastic caps (recycle with plastics).

Take a look in the wardrobe

Is your fashion fix out of control? You’re not alone. In the UK, where we consume more than anywhere else in Europe, and can’t keep going this way. Indeed, most (fast) fashion items are a) discarded earlier than needed, b) not currently recyclable. According to Oxfam, after they have been donated charity shops, 70 percent of those clothes end up in African countries like Kenya, Rwanda, Ghana, and others, leaving little room for a local clothing industry to develop. And when local markets are infiltrated with fashion waste, the local culture and craft suffers.

So consider upcycling or repurposing those clothes. Try groups like the Fashion Revolution for ideas.

In the living room

Did you know that it takes seven days for a recycled newspaper to come back as a newspaper again? You could be reading your favourite newspaper on recycled paper in no time at all! In this room you can often find these items for recycling: Envelopes, newspapers, cardboard packaging from online shopping.

Kitchen nightmares

Along with the usual drinks bottles in the kitchen, remember to check the cupboard under the sink.  Items people often forget to recycle include: Washing-up liquid bottles, bleach bottles, surface cleaners, washing liquid and conditioner bottles, aerosols tins of furniture polish and air fresheners, empty dishwasher tablet boxes and kitchen wrap boxes.

Take the recycling spirit with you when you’re gifting too. Show your friends and family you care about them and our environment too, check out some of our recycled and eco-friendly boxes here.

We at the Tiny Box Company believe that luxury and beauty need not be compromised when making ethical packaging choices. Based on this principle, we have carefully hand-picked our entire range, which includes recycled jewellery boxes, recycled bags, gift packaging, rigid boxes, acid-free tissue paper, ribbon and more.