Recycling outdoors and on holiday

A BBQ on the beach, campfires in the woods or a picnic in the park, all images that come to mind when you think of summer and eating outdoors. Recycling bins, not so much.

When it comes to the end of your meal: you’re full of food, have sand/leaves/grass in your hair and the last thing you really want to think about is throwing away your rubbish. So here’s a quick guide:

• If it’s a BBQ on the beach you’ve had, there are often wheeled bins to dispose of your rubbish. Be careful though, a hot BBQ can set fire to the bin so make sure you take note of the signs and put it in the right place.
• For a camp fire, take your rubbish with you. It might seem like a pain, but better that than someone else arriving to a pile of rubbish or an animal eating it by mistake.
• Picnics in the park are the easy one – there are always rubbish bins around, so there’s no reason to leave rubbish behind.

Regardless of what you’re doing, pack a few carrier bags to make it easy to take your rubbish away with you if necessary. That way, you’ll make a dent in the carrier bags you’re collecting at home and you’re not in danger of causing any damage to wildlife or bins.

Abroad can be a little harder. You don’t necessarily know the language so reading the signs on bins can be difficult. Increasingly pictures and icons are used that help to break down those language barriers so use them as a guide.

If you’re on holiday in a self catered place, your welcome pack will probably detail the local recycling scheme. No one wants to annoy the locals so make an effort to recycle your rubbish at the end of your stay.

Finally, believe it or not, there’s a competition for your summer holiday recycling selfies. You can find out more here, so get out your selfie stick and start snapping!