Repair, reuse and recycle your way to a sustainable Christmas

Edition: November 2023

We are all often looking for ways to reduce waste and the amount we spend.

It is important for our pockets and our impact on the climate. Reusing existing materials and products for as long as possible supports a sustainable circular economy in the District.

Don’t ditch it, fix it

Have you got Christmas lights that aren’t fully working, or a toy, garment, or appliance that could have a new lease of life with a bit of expertise - why not try using your local repair café?

The concept of the Repair Café is a global movement to help people be more sustainable and reduce the amount of things that might be discarded.

As Robin Johnson, from Greener Steyning says:

“Repair cafés are great at giving some extra life to items that you use around your household. Why replace them when you could extend their life and save the cost. This is especially important around Christmas which is an expensive time of the year.”

We have nine repair cafés throughout Horsham District, some of which have received a grant from the Council’s Community Climate Fund to assist them in their start up.

Each repair café runs slightly differently, so please check how they operate before your visit.

Make the most of a re-use shop

For items with plenty of life that you are no longer using West Sussex County Council have a re-use shop at the Billingshurst Recycling Centre to save homewares, bikes, and furniture from going to waste.

Recycle

Cardboard packaging, Christmas cards, and plastic trays can all be recycled in your blue-top bin, but please remember to rip up large pieces of cardboard as these can cause your recycling to become stuck in the bin.

Please note: Plastic film, bubble wrap and polystyrene packaging cannot be accepted in your blue-top bins for recycling.

Do the scrunch test!

Avoid foil or glittery wrapping paper. If you can scrunch it and it springs back it contains plastic and can’t be recycled in your blue-top bin.

What about those harder to recycle materials?

There are many single-use plastic items that we use every day like toothbrushes, confectionery wrappers and make up that can’t be recycled by the Council. Local community group Sussex Green Living has partnered with Terracycle to recycle many single use plastics including crisp packets. There are community recycling collection points across Horsham District for these and many other products.

Many local supermarkets have facilities to drop off soft plastics such as plastic bags, bread bags and other wrapping. We have a link to a Recycling Locator tool from Recycle Now on our website to help you find your nearest participating stores.

Use your recycling centre

Your local recycling centre can take items including spectacles, hard plastics, paint, saucepans, tools, light bulbs and household hazardous chemicals such as cleaning products.