This year’s national Recycle Week is tasking residents to take recycling into their own hands and take action to protect our environment.
Organised by WRAP under the Recycle Now brand, Recycle Week runs from 21 to 27 September and is a celebration of recycling.
This year, the theme will thank the nation for continuing to recycle despite the challenges that COVID-19 has presented, under the banner ‘Together – We Recycle’.
Statistics released by Recycle Now show that through lockdown, the UK has become even more environmentally aware, with nearly nine in 10 households saying they ‘regularly recycle’.
Coming out of lockdown, more people are prepared to change their lifestyles to help the environment – 73 per cent, up from 68 per cent in 2019. And 93 per cent of UK households say they believe that ‘everyone has a responsibility to help towards cleaning up the environment’. The figures come from research carried out during lockdown and an omnibus survey completed in July.
Recycle Now wants Recycle Week 2020 to recognise the sacrifices that people have made to keep recycling going and create positive change in the world around us. Recycling and waste key workers have carried on collecting while the world slowed down around them.
Councillor Stewart Swinburn, portfolio holder for environment, said: “Everyone can play their part in helping to protect the environment by recycling as much as possible.
“We’re making it easier for people to recycle more and waste less with the roll out of our new recycling bins that will be delivered to households by the autumn. It’s part of a massive transformation for recycling in North East Lincolnshire.
“It’s fantastic that more and more people in North East Lincolnshire are recycling.
“That’s why we’re encouraging people to recycle more and waste less this Recycle Week because we want everyone to benefit from a clean, well-cared for environment that local people can be proud of.”
Peter Maddox, Director, WRAP UK, added: “It’s fantastic to see that despite everything that has been thrown at them this year, more people than ever in North East Lincolnshire are taking responsibility for protecting the environment by choosing to recycle. This is something we can all do, wherever we live – an individual action that, when performed by everyone, adds up to a huge change.
“North East Lincolnshire Council’s recycling and waste workers have been real heroes too, providing the best service possible under the most difficult of circumstances. The recognition they received in the form of friendly waves, notes, cards and gifts left out for them is heart-warming proof of how North East Lincolnshire has cooperated.
“Recycle Week this year is an opportunity to thank everyone for continuing to recycle, whatever their circumstances and to celebrate the way we have all pulled together. There has been a positive leap forward in attitudes that we must capitalise on so North East Lincolnshire can do even better in the coming year.”
There are some simple things that we can all do to make our recycling even better:
- Recycle more of these items: Plastic bottles, plastic bottles from your bathroom and household aerosols.
- Make sure these never go in the recycling bin: Food trays, yoghurt pots, paint cans or tin foil.
- And if you’re at all unsure about how to recycle a specific item, you can go to nelincs.gov.uk/recycling
What and how we recycle really matters. Recycling an item rather than throwing it in the general rubbish bin means that it will be dealt with in the most environmentally friendly way, keeping materials in use and out of the environment.
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