Managing rubbish and waste

If bin collections stop, rubbish soon attracts rats, flies and disease. A simple system keeps your home and the area around it safe and clean.

Reduce what you make

• Flatten boxes and tins to save space.
• Burn nothing indoors and avoid open burning outside where it's banned. Smoke from plastics is toxic.
• Reuse jars, bottles and bags where you can.

Sort it

Keep separate containers for:

1. Food scraps: smell and attract pests fastest.
2. Recyclables: rinsed tins, glass, plastic and paper. These can wait.
3. General waste: everything else.
4. Hazardous waste: batteries, medicines, chemicals, sharps. Keep apart and safe.
5. Human waste: always kept separate, double-bagged and sealed. See the improvised toilet guide.

Store it safely

• Use bins with tight-fitting lids, or tie bags and store them in a lidded box.
• Keep bins outside, in the shade and away from doors, windows, water supplies and food areas.
• Raise bags off the ground if rats are a problem.
• Rinse out bins with soapy water or diluted bleach when you can.

Food waste

• If you have a garden, dig a hole at least 30 cm deep, away from water sources, and bury food scraps, covering each lot with soil.
• A compost bin works for vegetable scraps, but keep meat, fish and dairy out of it.

Sharps and medicines

Put used needles and blades in a hard plastic bottle with a screw lid, label it and keep it away from children. Keep old medicines in their packs until you can return them to a pharmacy.

Dead animals

Wear gloves or use a bag over your hand. Bag the animal, tie it and put it with general waste or bury it deeply away from water. Wash your hands afterwards.

Keep yourself safe

• Wear gloves when handling rubbish.
• Wash your hands after every time.
• Follow instructions from your local authorities about temporary collection points and what they'll take.

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