Climate action NGO WRAP has launched this year’s imitative under the theme ‘Let’s Get Real’, targeting contamination to improve recycling behaviours (see letsrecycle.com story).
As one of Recycle Week’s sponsors, waste management company Biffa invited cameras into its Aldridge material recycling facility (MRF) near Birmingham, “to show how people can really make a difference by getting recycling right.”
Putting the wrong things in the green bin can lead to the recycling becoming contaminated or machinery damaged, Biffa says.
The film features Biffa shift leader Dhillon giving a tour of the Aldridge site as he lifts the lid on what can and cannot be recycled at home.
“You do realise you are making a difference,” he said. “It’s a good feeling.”
Northern Ireland
In Northern Ireland, a number of civic buildings have been lit up in green to mark Recycle Week.
Northern Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera) has also funded and launched MyRecyclingNI, a website which allows people to see what happens to the waste and recycling collected by local councils in Northern Ireland.
MyRecyclingNI provides people with information on what happens to their recycling, how much recycling their local council collects each year and its reported fate.
South London
Elsewhere, the South London Waste Partnership (SLWP) boroughs of Croydon, Kingston, Merton and Sutton are working alongside their waste and street cleansing contractor, Veolia, to support the ‘Let’s get real’ campaign.
Recycle Week is a unique opportunity to raise awareness amongst the communities we work with across the country
The four SLWP boroughs are using their social media channels to reveal the positive impact recycling different items can have on the environment and the realities of wasting valuable resources.
Veolia’s dedicated education, communications and outreach team is visiting primary schools across the SLWP region to deliver Recycle Week-themed assemblies.
Each school visited by the Veolia team is also hosting a pop-up roadshow at drop-off or pick-up time, where recycling experts are on hand to answer any questions parents or carers may have.
Pascal Hauret, managing director for municipal at Veolia, said: “Recycle Week is a unique opportunity to raise awareness amongst the communities we work with across the country of the innovative solutions we are delivering to help residents recycle. We want them to know that their recycling really does make a difference.”
Havant
Meanwhile, Havant borough council has sought to highlight to residents where their recycling goes after collection.
Recycling from the borough goes to Veolia’s MRF in Portsmouth. Items are sorted into the different material categories, before being baled and sent to processers for recycling to preserve resources.
Veolia is another company to have created a video outlining what happens to residents’ waste in Hampshire once it has been picked up from the kerbside.
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