Bins, bins bins! This is all I’ve been hearing in the office recently!

In case you’ve been living under a rock for the last few weeks, Allerdale council has temporarily suspended collections of garden waste and recycling (glass, plastic and metal).

I won’t go into details about the rights and wrongs of the issue, that is the decision the council made due to issues with a new collection system and we have to deal with it.

It’s all good and well saying we can use the tips and recycling centres while the situation is sorted, but I think this could be a good opportunity to try harder to reduce the amount of rubbish we produce and learn to reuse what we have.

So instead of treating you to yet another rant, I’ll treat you to a few tips that can help you through the next few months, without having to become a super recycling queen/king.

The most useful thing you can do is to make better choices when you buy. If you don’t take it home, you don’t have to get rid of it!

Buying lose fruit and veg from the supermarket means you won’t end up with all the plastic containers/basket etc. If your supermarket doesn’t stock loose produce, try the markets or online shopping. There are tons of websites that sell loose fruit and veg.

If you like to shop local, Grow West sell fruit and veg boxes of different sizes and you’ll also be supporting a good cause as they are part of charity West House, which supports people with disabilities.

You can buy loose nuts in some supermarkets (I know Lidl do!) or the lovely ladies at Goodness and Grain have pop-up shops selling loose nuts, oats, rice, beans, lentils and pasta. Just bring your containers along and buy as much as you need. Check them out on Facebook for dates and where to find them.

Keswick hosts a plastic free market too - I know, it’s a bit of a trek, but if you like to bulk-buy, it’s worth the trip.

And this bin-chaos, as it’s been branded, could also be an opportunity for you to make healthier choices for your body too. Do you need to drink that can of Coke? You could probably survive without it, so how about reducing the amount of sugary drinks you consume and reduce the amount of cans in your bin at the same time?

Milkmen have also made a comeback now that there is more focus on reducing waste, and you could get your milk delivered in glass bottles, which you then return to your supplier to be refilled.

I also never throw away jars, whether they contained jam, olives or capers, I wash them and reuse them for storing left-overs in the fridge.

For your garden waste, a composter or digester is the easiest and most sustainable solution. The county council subsidises them and you can buy them for as cheap as £15. I bought a digester where I can put garden waste as well as vegetable peelings and other food waste and I’ve never looked back. You can find all the details here: www.greatgreensystems.com. Happy loose shopping!