Help us zero in on waste

We need your help to reduce waste at the zoo!

A “circular economy” is where nothing is wasted, and all materials are reused in some form. At Marwell, we’re working toward achieving this and becoming an organisation where nothing escapes into the environment.

In the zoo, we are striving to reuse or recycle any surplus materials. Anything that can’t be recycled at Marwell goes to a plant that generates electricity from waste.

This does reduce the UK’s carbon footprint, but it also destroys those materials, so they are no longer available for another use. These then need to be replaced, often with new materials made from fossil fuels or from large-scale mining operations which cause considerable damage to habitats around the world.

By reusing existing products and separating more materials for reuse or recycling, we can reduce the amount of new material required.

How can you help?

Reduce the amount of waste from your picnic:

• Put sandwiches and snacks in reusable containers instead of a plastic bag or foil. As well as reducing packaging waste you can also take leftovers home to eat later or compost.
• Bring a reusable cup and you’ll get a discount on hot drinks at our cafés.
• Bring a refillable bottle and fill at any of the water stations around the zoo.
• If you need cutlery for your picnic, try reusable camping cutlery or bring some from your kitchen.
• If you need to use a straw, bring a reusable one instead of one made from single-use plastic.
• Take plastic bags, crisp packets, biscuits wrappers etc. home with you for recycling at your local supermarket on your next shop.
• Separate your materials into the correct bins at the zoo: mixed recycling, cups, food and everything else.

To see each recycling bin and refillable bottle locations, check out the interactive map on our free “Marwell Zoo” app. Or take a look at the map on our website for all the different recycling point locations.