Cornwall Council is urging people to take part in its Recycle Week Challenge and help tackle the climate crisis.
Recycling from your home is one of the simplest and easiest ways you can help protect the environment.
The theme for this year’s Recycle Week (20th to 26th September) is Step It Up and the Council is asking everyone to do just that by recycling one more thing from each room of their home.
Do your bit by taking part in the Recycle Week Challenge. It’s quick and easy and won’t cost you a penny.
The Recycle Week Challenge
Step one
If you haven’t got your recycling bags and box or you need more, you can order them for free from the Cornwall Council website.
Use the orange bag for cardboard, the red bag for plastics and cans and the blue bag for paper and magazines. The black box is for glass bottles and jars.
Step two
Go around each room in your house and make a list of all the things you usually put in the bin.
Step three
Check whether any of the items on your list can be recycled. Use our handy online A-Z of recycling to find out what goes where. See the tips below on what items you can recycle from each room.
Step four
Follow the Cornwall Recycles Facebook page and tell us how you get on by messaging us. Take pictures or videos of the items you’ve recycled and tell us what you’ve learned.
Recycling is something we can all do to help fight climate change. Around 95% less energy is used to make products from recycled materials than using raw materials and small changes really do make a big difference. Recycling just one drinks can could save enough energy to power a TV for four hours.
Councillor Carol Mould, Portfolio holder for Neighbourhoods, said: “We are committed to recycling more in Cornwall but we need residents to play their part. If we all make small changes, together we can make a huge difference.
“This Recycle Week I encourage everyone to look at the items they are throwing in the bin and think about what could be recycled instead. Recycling is far better for the environment and everyone needs to do their bit.”
Recycling tips
Here are some of the most common items you can recycle from each room in your home.
Bathroom
• Toothpaste boxes - flatten
• Toilet roll tubes - flatten
• Plastic shampoo and conditioner bottles - empty and rinse items, replace lids/tops
• Shower gel containers - empty and rinse items, replace lids/tops
• Liquid soap bottles - empty, rinse and remove pump dispenser (throw pump into the rubbish bin)
• Bleach bottles - empty, replace lid
• Bathroom cleaners - rinse and replace the trigger spray
Bedroom
• Empty tissue boxes - remove any plastic insert and flatten
• Old magazines
• Empty deodorant aerosols and hairspray - ensure empty and remove plastic caps (recycle with plastics)
• Unwanted clothes and shoes – put in an old carrier bag and place in your black recycling box
Living room
• Envelopes
• Newspapers
• Cardboard packaging from online shopping - remove packaging tape and flatten to save space in your recycling bin
• Batteries - Set aside a box for “dead” batteries. Once it’s full, take it to your Household Waste and Recycling Centre (HWRC) or battery recycling point. More information about your local recycling points can be found at the battery bank recycling point finder.
Kitchen
Along with the usual drinks bottles and glass jars, remember to check the cupboard under the sink! Items often forgotten include:
• Washing-up liquid bottles - empty and rinse
• Bleach bottles - empty, replace lid
• Surface cleaner bottles - rinse and replace the trigger spray
• Washing liquid and conditioner bottles - empty and rinse
• Aerosols tins of furniture polish and air fresheners - ensure empty and remove plastic caps (recycle with plastics)
• Empty dishwasher tablet boxes and kitchen wrap boxes - flatten to save space in your recycling bin
Press release published on September 20, 2021
