When you throw something away, have you ever wondered where it goes, or how much it costs to dispose of?

Debra Alexis, of Eastcote Road, South Harrow, is being trained as Harrow’s first Bin Doctor in a bid to help households across the borough slim their bin, reduce the amount we send to waste management stations and save you money.

When Mrs Alexis recently visited Victoria Road Waste Transfer Station, which manages West London waste, she was amazed to find that the rubbish being picked up by freight trains was not rubbish at all: it contained lots of recyclable items, clothes, toys and food.

She said: “Even though we have a great recycling system here in Harrow there is still so much more we could do. Two miles of rubbish a week is crazy and it costs the council £100 a tonne to dispose of it. What a waste of our council tax money.”

That is why The Rubbish Diet is here, encouraging you to slim your bin for 2014.

The diet consists of four easy steps that will help you sort out your rubbish and save you money.

1. Recycle : find out what goes where, and what facilities are available to you locally

2. Tackle food waste : know your sell by dates

3. Waste not, want not : scrap the disposals and fix things, do not replace them

4. Begin your zero waste challenge : find all the information you need on The Rubbish Diet website

Sign up at www.therubbishdiet.org.uk. For more information about the Rubbish Diet and how to get involved contact Debra on bindoctorharrow@therubbishdiet.org.uk or phone: 0750 300 4099.