News

Waste Awareness Wales is urging people to get their hands dirty this Bank Holiday Monday for Compost Awareness Week.

This year’s Real Nappy Week (21-27 April) has been launched by Welsh newsreader and new mum Lucy Owen. As part of the week, Waste Awareness Wales and Sustainable Wales are encouraging new parents such as Lucy to consider using real nappies on their children – and has also launched a search to find babies from across Wales to star in a real nappy calendar.

A staggering 4.4 million whole apples are being thrown away untouched every day by households in the UK with fruit and vegetables making up a huge 40 per cent of food waste according to the latest figures from Waste Awareness Wales’ campaign Love Food Hate Waste / Hoffi Bwyd Casáu Gwastraff.

As Easter approaches, many of us will start to think about all things egg-shaped as approximately 80 million chocolate eggs will be bought in the UK over the Easter period. This year, without wanting to deny Wales’ chocoholics their sweet treats, Waste Awareness Wales is asking people to try and reduce the amount of packaging waste these chocolate eggs create.

Spring is in the air and many people’s thoughts are already turning to a spring clear-out. As this month Waste Awareness Wales celebrates its fifth anniversary – an occasion traditionally celebrated with gifts made of wood - they are asking people to consider reusing their old furniture when they have finished with it rather than sending it to landfill.

With Mother’s Day on 2 March this year, Welsh mums are in for a bit of well deserved pampering. Wales’ hardworking mums definitely deserve a treat, and this year Waste Awareness Wales has released a list of suggestions for the ultimate Mother’s Day gifts – presents that will both treat our mums and reduce the amount of waste that normally goes to landfill after the special day.

With Dydd Santes Dwynwen and Valentine’s Day fast approaching, millions of people across Wales will be celebrating the occasion by sending one of the approximately 13 million Valentine’s cards that are purchased in the UK every year.

Christmas cheer is behind us and the winter season is in full force. Yet while a spot of light shopping is normally enough to brighten even the dreariest of days, with credit cards still smouldering after the festive overload, a new approach to revamping your wardrobe may be needed.

With the Christmas stockings packed away and the last turkey sandwich eaten, Christmas is over for another year – and some of the present choices we made can start to look a little less appealing.

The Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing today (11 December) visited Ysgol y Berllan Deg in Cardiff, one of the latest Eco-schools in Wales to be awarded the highest environmental rating, and home to the star of Waste Awareness Wales’ latest advertising campaign.

"Recycling one glass bottle could save enough energy to power a light bulb for almost an hour", "Reducing our food waste by half could have the same effect on CO2 emissions as taking thousands of cars off the road" – these are some of the powerful messages being delivered in a new campaign launched today (Monday, 3 December) by Waste Awareness Wales.

Waste Awareness Wales, the organisation encouraging us to reduce, reuse and recycle our rubbish has today launched its first campaign to help reduce the amount of food waste being thrown away by households across the country.

Statutory targets set for waste disposal mean that there is an urgent need for new waste facilities in Wales to treat residual waste (the rubbish left after recycling and composting has taken place). The Welsh Assembly Government firmly believes that the people of Wales should be involved in developing the future waste management services for the country. As a result the Regional Waste Groups (of North, South East and South West Wales) have launched a ten week consultation period, starting this week, which is actively seeking the views of the people of Wales.

It’s the scariest time of the year again…and as across the country thousands of pumpkins go under the knife, this year people in Wales are being challenged to use them for more than just the fright-factor.

While stereotypically students may not always be seen as putting the environment at the top of their list of priorities, it seems many of Wales’ students have a relatively green approach to their studies and lifestyle, naturally.

Schools from across Wales have been taking part in recycling schemes for years, from aluminium can collections to recycling paper, but according to Waste Awareness Wales, more needs to be done if we are to succeed in changing the nation’s habits when it comes to managing our waste.

The Welsh Assembly Government’s new Minister for Sustainability and Housing – Jane Davidson Assembly Member – is encouraging visitors to this year’s Royal Welsh Show to recycle their rubbish both at home and away.

With invitations already starting to stack up on mantlepieces across Wales, the key wedding season is definitely approaching – and this year people are finding the most stylish weddings around can be both special for you and kinder to the environment.

Bob Geldof has been voted by the people of Wales as the ‘greenest’ celebrity, according to results of a new poll. Prince Charles, Sting, Al Gore and Chris Martin were also named as green ambassadors as part of the research carried out to mark Recycle Week (2-8 June).

In an attempt to further increase recycling rates, several of the events have additional recycling facilities for those people staying overnight at the event. Recycling sites collecting plastic bottles and cans, amongst other materials, will be located at various camping sites.