Disposing of your rubbish thoughtfully can save lives.

Household waste can be deadly when it ends-up on a rubbish tip where wild animals search for food and hundreds of creatures die miserable deaths or suffer because of thoughtless disposal of rubbish. You can help by disposing of your rubbish safely and securely. Rubbish that you put in a litter bin or secure dustbin will probably end up on an open rubbish tip where it can be deadly to animals.

Plastic Bags

Tie a knot on all plastic bags to be discarded. Knotted bags are less likely to blow away. Also, animals are less likely to climb inside them and suffocate. Birds and other animals scavenging on waste tips are unlikely to confuse knotted bags with food and eat them. Reduce the number of bags to be discarded by bringing you own bags to the supermarket when shopping.

Cans

The best animal and environment-friendly option is to recycle – contact your local council to know if there are facilities in your area. If you must dispose of them, make sure that you remove the lid from the cans. Then drop the lip to the bottom of the can and firmly pinch the top shut. This stops the lid acting as a barb and trapping an animal's head as it nudges it into it.

Yogurt Pots

Remove the lids completely and scrunch the lids up. This reduces the risk of hedgehogs and other animals getting their heads stuck inside them.

Beer Can Binding

Always cut open the loops on the plastic binding that holds beer and soft drink cans together. This stops small animals getting tangled-up in the binding. Even better, buy cans with a cardboard carrying pack instead – then recycle the cardboard.

Bottles and Jars

Take all empty glass bottles and jars to a bottle bank. Glass can cause serious injury to animals and plastic bottles are a fire hazard at the tip head. If you cannot recycle your plastic bottles, cut them in half before you throw them away. In this way, small animals like mice and shrews are unlikely to get trapped inside them. Bear in mind that it’s easier for animals to get into a bottle than get out as the insides are usually slippery and they cannot get enough grip to escape.

Rubber Bands

Cut them so animals will not get caught in them.

Netting

Netting of any kind - old garden net, netting from packets of peanuts or fruit etc. should be placed into a plastic bag or other container and knotted or sealed in some way. This is lethal to many animals who can die slow deaths while entangled in it.

Balloons

Used balloons often end up in fields or the sea where animals can mistake them for food as they look just like tasty jellyfish to seabirds. If throwing these out with your household rubbish, cut them into tiny pieces.

Records from the RSPCA in Britain show that these dangers are real and in the past year it has seen badgers, foxes, hedgehogs, voles and shrews, moles, weasels, field mice and many birds found dead at tip heads from the items mentioned above. For more information logo onto www.rspca.org.uk