RECAP News
30/05/2008 - Recycle Now reveals why every little bit helps...
Figures unveiled today by Recycling in Peterborough and Cambridgeshire (RECAP) and WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) to mark the start of Recycle Week (2 -6 June 2008), have highlighted a series of ‘hotspots’ in the home of ‘forgotten’ items of recyclable household waste. From the Recycle Week survey1 the top five items which people say they don’t recycle are:
- aerosol containers for deodorant, air freshener or polish, etc (62%)
- biscuit and sweet tins (53%)
- plastic shampoo and toiletry bottles (32%)
- plastic cleaning product bottles, such as bleach or disinfectants (31%)
- glass jars, such as those for cooking sauces (20%)
Whilst nearly two thirds (62%) of consumers said that they always remembered to recycle items from their kitchen, this falls dramatically to around a third for waste found in other areas of the home, such as the bathroom (36%) and bedroom (34%)2.
The research also showed that 59% of people focused on recycling cans, plastic drinks bottles, glass bottles, paper and card. Over a quarter (26%) were unaware that items such as aerosols, plastic detergent bottles, magazines and biscuit and sweet tins could often be recycled3. The good news is that these household items can be recycled by residents in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough at Household Recycling Centres and through some doorstep recycling collections and recycling banks. Please check with your local authority or visit www.recap.co.uk to see what items can be recycled where.
This year Recycle Week is about highlighting the extra things we can easily do to recycle more and increase the impact of our recycling efforts.
If every household in England recycled ‘one more thing’, the total amount collected for recycling could increase by more than three quarters of a million tonnes and could potentially raise the national recycling rate by up to 3%4.
Helen Taylor of RECAP says:
“Cambridgeshire and Peterborough residents are achieving higher and higher recycling and composting rates each year. Yet, sometimes we don’t realise how much of our household waste can be easily recycled, or we think that recycling one more thing won’t make a real difference. According to WRAP figures, if every household in Peterborough and Cambridge recycled just one more glossy magazine each week, over a year we’d save 4,844 tonnes of CO2 - the equivalent of taking 1,532 cars off the road”
To mark Recycle Week across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and to encourage people to recycle just that little bit more and make that big difference, the following activities and events are being held:
Primary schools in Peterborough are doing a ‘Recycling Relay Race’ to support national Recycle Week from Monday 2 to Friday 6 June. As part of Recycle Week activities, the community engagement team is asking all schools to complete an environmental questionnaire about what they recycle.
Cambridgeshire County Council will launch their new Recycling Bus at the following events:
Monday 2 June, Environment Exhibition, Huntingdon Market Square, 10am to 4pm
Saturday 7 June, Donarbon Open Day, Waste Management Park, Waterbeach, 10am to 4pm
Saturday 14 June, ‘Save the Planet’ March Summer Festival, March 10am to 4pm
Other Recycle Week events inlcude:
Tuesday 3 June, Recycle ‘Just one more thing’ stall and free kitchen caddies for Cambridge City residents, Arbury Community Centre, Cambridge, 10am to 4pm
Tuesday 3 June, Recycle ‘Just one more thing’ Road show Trailer, Asda, Wisbech, 9.30am – 4pm
Thursday 5 June, World Environment Day Event, Christ’s Pieces, Cambridge, 10am – 2pm
Friday 6 June, The Sustainable Living Exhibition, The Grafton, Cambridge, 10am- 4pm
To find out more about what’s happening in your area during Recycle Week and further information about recycling in your area, visit
www.recap.co.uk and go to ‘Your Local Recycling Scheme’, or contact your local authority. You can also visit
www.recyclenow.com and use the postcode locator to find details of your nearest recycling services. For more information on how to help tackle climate change, visit
www.direct.gov.uk/ActOnCO2
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