How to recycle more at the yard
We get it, recycling is hard enough when you're at home, let alone when you're at the yard and let alone when that yard is a livery yard with much of the waste out of your control...
However, the amount of waste we generate looking after our beloved steeds is more than the average household, so we have a responsibility to do more, if we can.
It doesn't need to be tricky. Here are our top 5 tips to get a recycling habit going at your yard...
Nominate someone to take ownership
Let's face it, trying to get everyone to sign up to recycling their rubbish is probably not an easy task when you're on a livery yard. Try taking ownership and creating a system for everyone to follow. Work with the yard manager or owner to help you do this.
Agree on a yard system
Decide where recycling is going to go - can it be handled by the recycling bins associated with the yard?
Could your local authority be contacted to ask for more recycling bins?
For items that can't be recycled by your local authority, will someone take responsibility to take certain items to a recycling centre? Alternatively, there are fantastic schemes like Terracycle who will collect those harder to recycle items it for you.
Find out what can and cannot be recycled
Most packaging these days carries a symbol indicating if and how it can be recycled. Check out our guide here.
Go through your yard waste: feed bags, bedding bags and horse care and work out which bins each item goes into. If in doubt, contact the brand and ask how their packaging should be recycled. Some feed and bedding companies now have collection schemes to remove the waste for you.
Try to encourage your fellow horse lovers to pick brands that use readily recyclable packaging. Consider brands using endlessly recyclable or compostible packaging. Ahem....mentioning no names here ;-) Check out our plastic-free horse care.
Let your fellow yardies know
Have you got a Facebook page or yard notice board? Let everyone know about the new system and where they should be putting their rubbish. Put up signs to indicate which bins can take which type of rubbish.
Start small
Rome wasn't built in a day. Even if you can find a recycling solution for one element of your yard waste, you're already a step ahead!
We'd love to hear how your yard handles recycling. Head over to our Instagram and DM us if you've got ideas on how to improve this
