As the bin collections recommence today (Sunday) after a well-earned Christmas day off, MyWelshpool us backing Powys County Council’s message for us to become the world’s best.
Over the past 10 years we have supported the push for us all to recycle more, taking us from relative also-rans to world beaters. Wales is currently third on the charts with an incredible 65% recycling rate, 1% ahead of the Welsh Government target for the year.
A recent survey also revealed that 55% of us are recycling more than we were this time last year, with environmental concerns being one of the biggest motivators.
And now, with a mountain of paper, card, food waste and plastic in our houses, the message is to try our very best to ensure it ends up in the correct bin and not in landfill.
Cllr Heulwen Hulme, Cabinet Member for Waste and Recycling, explains: “We know people in Wales care about protecting our beautiful country and recycling plays an essential role in tackling climate change. It’s a simple thing that everyone can do to help make a real difference”.
Follow these top tips to be a Mighty Recycler this Christmas:
- Eat, recycle, be merry. Powys County Council provides a weekly food waste recycling collection service. Please use it. You can recycle turkey bones, veg peelings and any leftovers from your Christmas dinner! And keep recycling other waste over the Christmas period too, such as tea bags and coffee grounds, eggshells, peelings and cores from fruit, and stale bread.
- Conquer your card this Christmas. You can recycle all cardboard from online deliveries. Please remove all sticky tape first and flatten any boxes. And once Christmas is over, please recycle all your cards, just remove any bows and ribbons first, and any parts with glitter.
- Most plastic from around the home can be recycled; drinks bottles, cleaning products and toiletry bottles, such as shampoo and shower gel. Don't forget to empty, crush and replace the lids before recycling. And remove any pump dispensers or trigger sprays first as these can’t be recycled. You can also recycle the big plastic tubs of chocolate and sweets!
- Don’t overlook foil this Christmas. Please recycle foil cases from mince pies and any clean or unstained foil used in your Christmas cooking. Please empty and rinse foil trays and containers before putting them out to be recycled.
- Metal drinks cans and food tins as well as empty aerosols, such as deodorant, shaving gel and hairspray, can all be recycled.
If you’re ever unsure what you can and can’t recycle, visit the A to Z of waste and recyclable items: https://en.powys.gov.uk/article/7744/A-to-Z-of-waste-and-recyclable-items