My Mum always says “Waste not, want not”

Date published: 29 March 2011

Mum’s teach us lots of things: how to do our washing without dying the white sheets pink, and more recently with the increasing need to be environmentally friendly; how to reduce, re-use and recycle correctly.

We all need to reduce the amount we throw out each year, so we’ve put together some top tips for gifts that thank our Mum’s for all their hard work, and at the same time help us minimise our waste footprint and maximise our recycling.

Top Tips from Recycle for Greater Manchester include:

· Head for the kitchen
Make your Mum something, from a cup of tea or a Sunday roast to an indulgent chocolate cake, whatever it is, ban mums from the kitchen and treat them with homemade goodies. Dads can help young children bake simple meals. Fled the nest? Why not repay your mum for years of help by inviting her over for a special home cooked meal - recipes for yummy meals using leftover ingredients can be found at www.recycleforgreatermanchester.com , meaning that you don’t have to spend lots to put a smile on her face.

Remember to compost the tea bags and any fruit and vegetable peelings afterwards. Or, if you don’t own a home composter, place them in your food waste caddy.

· Get creative
Personalise your card by writing your Mum a poem or have a go at making your own gifts. You could chose your favourite photo of you and your Mum, or make a photo montage and decorate the photo frame by re-using items such as card, ribbon, glitter, buttons and left over paint.

· Flowers with a difference
Instead of a big bunch of flowers, why not try planting her favourite flowers in the garden or in a pretty pot for a gift that lasts all year round. If you do give bunches of flowers, remember to compost them afterwards, or put them in your garden waste bin.

· A surprise day out

Prepare a day out as a surprise – whether it’s a picnic in the park, a meal out, a trip down to the local beauty salon or try something totally different like ‘Zorbing’ with a voucher for an experience day.

Finally, you could even separate the recycling for her and put it in the right recycling container, to make sure that she has a day off and is able to put her feet up.