 This week is Zero Waste Week and we’re shining a light on simple swaps that can help you cut down on your waste.
Reduce, reuse, recycle - you’ve heard it all before but what does it actually mean and how can you do your bit to reduce the waste produced in West Sussex?
Often we focus a lot on recycling, meaning reducing waste and reusing items can take a back seat. Here in West Sussex, we want to encourage residents to move their waste up the waste hierarchy and prioritise reuse and waste prevention, and Zero Waste Week is a prefect way to do that. Check out our tips below to find something that works for you!
Reuse over single-use
- Switch to reusables: Invest in a reusable water bottle or coffee cup.
- Ditch clingfilm: Use reusable containers, beeswax wraps, or pot covers for leftovers and packed lunches.
- Reusable shopping bags: Keep them by the door or in your car so you never forget them.
Join the #FightAgainstFoodWaste
- Around a third of the average general waste bin in West Sussex is food waste - most of which is avoidable. In fact, 70% could have been eaten at some point before being thrown away. Plan meals, store food properly, and use leftovers creatively. Visit the Fight Against Food Waste page for more tips on how you can reduce your food waste and save up to £80 per family of four!
Repair
- Repair instead of replace: Visit local Repair Cafés to fix broken items and save money.
- Donate and buy second-hand: Charity shops, Vinted, eBay, and Facebook Marketplace are great for giving items a second life.
- Hire instead of buy: Try services like Fat Llama or Whirli to rent furniture, clothes, and toys
Visit our Waste Prevention page to find out more.
It’s officially autumn! The days are getting shorter, and the weather is turning colder and wetter.
If you're warming up with a seasonal coffee, don’t forget to bring your reusable coffee cup. It’s a simple way to help the planet, and many cafés offer discounts of 10p to 50p when you use one. Reusable cups come in all colours and sizes, so find one that suits you, and keep it washed and ready in your bag or car so you never forget it!
As the rain sets in, it’s important to keep your recycling bin lid closed. Wet recycling can’t be processed at our Materials Recycling Facility because moisture causes materials to stick to machinery and other recyclables. Always ensure your recycling is clean and dry, and if it doesn’t fit comfortably in your bin, check your local council’s excess recycling policy.
Due to the shorter days, our Recycling Centres will switch to autumn/winter opening hours from 1 October 2025. You can find your local centre’s updated hours in the table below.
 It's Recycle Week this month! From the 22 September to the 28 September, we will be putting the focus on rescuing recyclable materials from the general waste bin!
In West Sussex you can recycle a core set of materials:
- cartons
- foil
- glass bottles and jars
- plastic bottles and containers (all colours)
- paper and card
- metal cans and aerosols.
This includes commonly missed recyclable items such as toothpaste tubes, black plastics, bottles with trigger sprays and aerosols.
Just make sure they are clean, dry and loose before popping them in your recycling bin!
To find out more about recycling in West Sussex, visit our website.
 As part of the 2025 - 2026 Waste Prevention Community Grant Fund application process, 10 projects were successfully awarded funding to launch their waste prevention initiatives.
Groups located across West Sussex have each been granted up to £5,000 to deliver projects involving reuse, repair and prevention, targeting a range of household waste streams, including food, textiles, electrical items and general waste.
Here are some exciting updates from a few of our successful applicants:
Bognor Repair Café
Held on the first Saturday of each month at Makerspace, 58–60 Longford Rd, Bognor, the Bognor Regis Repair Café invites residents to bring broken household items for expert repair. Since opening, The Café has successfully repaired clocks, watches, electrical/electronic equipment, furniture, clothing, and other haberdashery. They have also sharpened knives and tools.
Makerspace is a welcoming environment, even if you do not have an item to repair, why not pop in for a chat and enjoy refreshments from their kitchen.
Return & Refill Dry Food in Storrington
Building on their successful bottle refill initiative, Sussex Green Living has launched their Refill & Return dry food service at Chanctonbury Leisure Centre in Storrington. This service fills a local gap, making sustainable shopping more accessible and reducing packaging waste.
Following a media launch and community surveys, the service officially opened on 23rd July (pictured). It will run on the fourth Wednesday of September (24/09), after which the leisure centre will take over permanent management, offering daily refill services alongside the existing bottle refill station.
Sew Resourceful
Resourceful Community Scrapstore have run their first series of hand sewing workshops, where participants learned basic and useful skills they can use to repair items of clothing etc. They each went home with a sewing kit and needlecase they had made themselves as part of the sessions. They have also had two groups of people, aged from 10-60, using sewing machines to make tote bags and reusable face wipes from discarded fabric.
Their Community Crafting Group begins this Saturday (06/09), and each month they will be making use of those newly discovered skills alongside various donated/discarded materials to create useful items that can be used by local organisations - starting with cushions for breast surgery patients at St Richard's hospital.
The sewing sessions will run again in October/November and are all free of charge!
Check back next month for an update from some of our other successful applicants. You can see a full list on our website here.
Throughout West Sussex, we are proud to work alongside a team of passionate waste prevention and recycling volunteers. They attend public and private events to promote waste prevention, reuse, and recycling, and are eager to answer questions about the county's recycling services and waste reduction initiatives.
In addition to the public events listed below, we are participating in numerous privately hosted talks and events for local community groups, schools, and other organisations. If you would like our team to give a talk, visit your school, attend an event, or if you would like more information, please contact us at: waste.prevention@westsussex.gov.uk.
We also support our partners at the district and borough councils with community outreach in selected areas, engaging residents on both recycling and waste prevention topics.
September/ October events
- Saturday 6 September (10am–4pm) – Waste Prevention Information Stand at CPRE Countryside Day, Knepp Estate, RH13 8PG.
- Saturday 6 September – Waste Prevention Information Stand at Community Day Festival (CCDT), Chapel Green, Graylingwell, Chichester, PO19 6BZ.
- Saturday 6 September (12pm–4pm) – Waste Prevention Information Stand at Tangmere Village Fete, Tangmere, PO20 2HS.
- Sunday 7 September (12pm–5pm) – Waste Prevention Information Stand at Ashurst Country Fayre and Fun Dog Show, Ashurst Recreation Ground, Steyning, BN44 3AY.
- Saturday 13 September (10:30am–5pm) – Waste Prevention Information Stand at Findon Sheep Fair, Nepcote Green, Findon, BN14 0SD.
- Saturday 13 September (12pm–5pm) – Waste Prevention Information Stand at Henfield Common Fair and Show, Henfield.
- Thursday 18 September (10am–11am) – Waste Prevention Information Stand at UKHarvest Community Food Hub Multi-Agency Support Hub, Charmandean Centre, Worthing Road, Worthing, BN14 9HS.
- Saturday 20 September (11:30am–3pm) – Waste Prevention Information Stand at Angmering Revealed, Angmering Community Centre, Foxwood Avenue, Angmering, BN16 4FU.
- Saturday 20 September (2pm–4pm) – Waste Prevention Information Stand at Partridge Green Repair Cafe, Partridge Green Village Hall, High St, Partridge Green, RH13 8HX.
- Sunday 28 September (10am-4pm)- We are joining the Adur Worthing Neighbourhood Team on their information stand at Worthing Green Dreams Festival, Field Place Manor House, The Boulevard, Worthing, BN13 1NP.
- Saturday 4 October (10am–1pm) – Waste Prevention Information Stand at Lindfield Repair Café, United Reform Church, High Street, Lindfield, RH16 2HL.
- Saturday 11 October (10am) – Lindfield Autumn Clean Event, Lindfield High Street, RH16 2HH.
- Wednesday 15 October (9am–11am) – Waste Prevention Information Stand at Broadfield Community Food Hub 'Multi Agency Support Hub', Broadfield Community Centre, Broadfield Barton, Crawley, RH11 9BA.
See a full list of events, over on our website.
Sign up for our newsletter
Finally, we know that if you receive this email, you are passionate about waste prevention and recycling.
If you find these emails helpful, why not share it with a friend and get them to subscribe to the West Sussex Recycles newsletter as well.
Help us spread the message and get more people on board to make West Sussex a strong, safe, and sustainable place to live.
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