IT is still six weeks away but Easter is coming and eggs are already in the shops.

As it is the time for massive chocolate eggs wrapped in foil and colourful cardboard boxes, the foil and cardboard will have to go somewhere. Preferably they can get to the green bins rather than landfill.

The makers of said eggs will not appreciate me saying that the size and weight of the box is no indication of the amount of chocolate and if you’re like me you will be interested in more egg and less card.

It must be remembered that recycling is only the third and poorer cousin of the other two techniques for keeping things out of landfill, the others being reduce and reuse.

Making things uses resources and energy. Then they have to be carted vast distances around the world before they get to us.

Recycling breaks, mashes or melts them down to raw materials to be used again. In most cases the resources are not able to put to such good use as the first time round, the notable exceptions being glass and aluminium.

These can be used again entirely as new. Ninety per cent of drinks cans are made of aluminium. Five out of every six glass bottles are thrown away. Walking around town you can see some of them. All it takes is to keep it until you get home and drop in a green bin.

Re-use, for such things as textiles, toys furniture means you give the things to new owners and get a new life, doing what they were designed for. There are online sites to advertise and trade depending on what they are – such as Preloved or Worcester Mums Network.

There are plenty of charity shops that take a wide variety of items.