A group of local councils is looking for volunteers to take up a challenge to throw away as little rubbish as possible for a week. Authorities in Bristol, Somerset and Gloucestershire want people and communities to take part in their Zero Waste Challenge to help the authorities’ attempts to reduce, reuse, and recycle as much as possible.

During the week of the challenege, September 29th to October 5th, those taking part will be asked to to keep a record of how they have managed to reduce their waste and how much they have still thrown away. The councils want to see just how little rubbish householders can produce when they their hardest to recycle and compost as much as possible and by avoiding or reducing the use of disposable products.

Bristol City Council has been joined by the councils in Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire to run the challenge. In previous years similar projects have seen people reduce the amount of waste they throw out to just a quarter of their normal levels. The authoritries say this not only reduces the waste sent to landfill but also saves resources and energy.

Bristol City Council’s Cabinet Member for Homes and Streetscene, Judith Price, said “We want to encourage as many individuals, schools and community groups to take part in this challenge as possible. Not only is it interesting to see how little waste they can produce during the week, they might also come up with some innovative ideas on reusing, reducing and recycling which we can then pass on to all our other residents.”