Council calls for people to rethink their rubbish and recycle more

Did you know that:

• wine
• spectacles
• bras
• mattresses and
• mobile phones

can all be recycled, one way or another?

To coincide with the launch of its ‘Rethink your rubbish … recycle more’ campaign Reigate & Banstead Borough Council is publishing a list of five things people don’t often think to recycle, to encourage residents to think differently about how they treat their rubbish.

Some 80% of a rubbish bin contents can be recycled. Following the launch of a new recycling and refuse service in the borough only last year, Reigate & Banstead residents are already recycling 50% of their rubbish, compared to the national average of 43%*.

Launching the campaign, which will see the Council mailing residents and using outdoor advertising to remind everyone to recycle and harnessing social media to promote the recycling message, Cllr Allen Kay Portfolio Holder for Recycling and Street Services said:

“Eight out of 10 homes with our new recycling service are now using it – which is fantastic news. For the first time ever, we are recycling as much as we’re throwing out. A huge thank you to our residents for taking to the scheme so enthusiastically – and please keep on recycling as we know there is more rubbish out there that can be recycled rather than sent to expensive landfill.

“Our new Infographic outlines some of the key results of our new service to date – from the money its saved the taxpayer through to the amounts recycled - and the other benefits recycling can have. Thank you to everyone for rethinking your rubbish and recycling more. Please use your recycling service as much as you can.”

Tadworth resident, mother of one and keen recycler Suzanne Murray supports the Council’s campaign to encourage people to recycle as much as possible:

“There’s no excuse for throwing things away now when reusing or recycling them is a serous option – especially as the recycling service makes it more convenient to recycle more from home. I’m pleased the Council is asking people to say ‘goodbye rubbish, hello recycling’: the more we keep out of expensive landfill and the less we waste generally the better.”

So how can you recycle those five items mentioned earlier?

• Wine: tip any leftover wine into your compost heap to help the composting process or freeze it to use in recipes at a later date. Screw top lids from wine bottles can also be recycled – pop them in your mixed recycling wheeled bin.
• Bras: by donating these to international charities such as Breast Talk (www.breasttalk.co.uk/bra-appeal) money can be raised to fund breast cancer research.
• Spectacles: Vision Aid Overseas (www.visionaidoverseas.org/recycle) runs a nationwide spectacle collection scheme to raise money to improve access to eye-care in developing countries.
• Mattresses: thinking of buying a new mattress? Check with the retailer to see what recycling schemes they offer that involve mattress materials being recycled rather than sent to landfill.
• Mobile phones: check with your mobile phone service provider or search online to see how you can recycle your old mobile phone and make money.

And for the more conventional items – plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays, paper, cardboard, tins and cans, foil, cartons, glass bottles and jars plus food waste – residents with mixed recycling bins and food waste caddies are being encouraged to use their service to recycle as much as possible.