On this Page

• Reduce and Reuse
• Recycling at the Village Hall
• Recycling at the School
• What goes in my green bin

Reduce and Reuse

We all need to produce LESS waste.  Recycling alone is not going to solve the waste crisis, and some materials (such as plastics) have only limited recycling potential.  Fortunately, it’s easy to cut down your waste, and saves you money.
 

1. Start by keeping a Waste Diary to understand the main sources of waste in your home.

2. Have a think about one or two things you could do to cut it down.  Don’t try to do it all at once!

3. Here are some ideas:

• Food Waste – plan your meals before you shop, and store fruit and veg in the fridge to maximise shelf life.  Estimates suggest that the average household wastes £60 a month on food. £720 a year is worth having!
• Reduce those nasty single use plastic containers by trying Refillables – available at Silchester Village Market
• Try a Repair Cafe to keep things going for a bit longer.  There are several around including:
  • Baughurst Repair Cafe
  • Overton Repair Cafe
  • North Hampshire Repair Cafe
  • Spencers Wood Repair Cafe
• Join Buy Nothing Silchester Facebook Group
• Use the Book and Jigsaw Swap in the Bus Shelter opposite the Calleva Arms

Local Activities

Buy Nothing Silchester

Buy Nothing Silchester is an active Facebook Group exclusively for Silchester residents to give, lend or share.  For more details see the Silchester Association.

Recycling in and around Silchester

There are lots of local recycling opportunities.  Many people in the village have mentioned that, while they support the idea of recycling, they find it difficult to work out what is supposed to be recycled and where.    Basingstoke and Deane have a helpful list here

Library of Things

We would like to set up a Library of occasionally used things (e.g. tools for the occasional DIYer, breadmakers, novelty cake tins) that would be available for Silchester residents to borrow rather than buy.  If this would be of interest, or if you would like to help set this up, please let Sustainable Silchester know.

“First, a new-born stuff is displayed in shiny packaging on a shelf in a shop.  At this stage, stuff is called ‘goods’.  As soon as the stuff is taken home and sheds it’s packaging it undergoes a transformation from ‘goods’ to its second form ‘clutter’. This clutter lives with its owner for a period of months or years.  During this period, the clutter is largely ignored by its owner, who is off at the shops buying more goods.  Eventually, by a miracle of alchemy, the clutter is transformed to its final form ‘rubbish’.  To the untrained eye it can be difficult to distinguish this ‘rubbish’ from the highly desirable ‘good’ that it used to be. Nonetheless, at this stage the discerning owner pays the dustman to transport the stuff away.”
David MacKay Sustainable Energy – without the hot air