As part of its Mission Zero aspirations to achieve net-zero carbon, the Isle of Wight Council is taking positive climate and environmental action for this year’s Recycle Week 2021 – 20th to 26th September 2021.
Residents are being encouraged to join the authority in supporting Recycle Now’s campaign — ‘Step It Up’ — and take action to protect our UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and lower emissions through even better recycling habits.
Getting recycling right
Latest research from Recycle Now reveals almost nine out of ten people recycle.
However, 55 per cent of UK households put items in the general rubbish bin that can be recycled, including foil, aerosols, and plastic toiletry (shampoo and conditioner bottles), plastic trays and cleaning and bleach bottles.
On the Island, on average, nearly a quarter of the contents of a typical black sack collected is food waste that could have been composted.
This is where we need to ‘Step It Up’. We can all help reduce the Island’s contribution to climate change by recycling because recycling currently saves 18 million tonnes of CO2 every year, which is the same as taking 12 million cars off the road.
In top 15 per cent for recycling
The Isle of Wight is an island of recyclers — the council is now in the top 15 per cent of local authorities for recycling and composting in the country, with 99 per cent of waste diverted from landfill according to Defra (December 2020 figures).
But there are some simple things we can all do to make our recycling even better.
Top tips for recycling:
- Recycle more of these items: plastic bottles, aerosols, plastic film, bread bags, plastic pots and tubs, and food.
- Make sure these never go into the recycling bin: nappies, food waste, polystyrene, bubble wrap, plastic toys with electronic parts, small household electronical items or appliances or batteries inside, batteries.
If you are at all unsure about how to recycle a specific item, visit the council’s waste page at www.iwight.com/waste where you can find out what needs to go in your recycling bin or sack.
Dix: Recycling has really become the norm for the Island
Natasha Dix, the council’s strategic manager for contracts, waste and environment, said,
“We are proud to be supporting national Recycle Week once again this year and I’m also proud of how well our residents are already doing with recycling. Recycling has really become the norm for the Island.
“But while we are doing well, we can always do better. There are items such as aerosols, for example, that we can recycle too as well as textiles on the doorstep. So I’d like to thank residents for helping us become a recycling island and let’s make it even better.”
To find out more about Recycle Week, and to find out what you can and can’t recycle where you live, visit the Website.
News shared by Isle of Wight council press office, in their own words. Ed
