Local charities help develop national recycling campaign

 
Local charities South Shropshire Furniture Scheme & Shropshire Housing Alliance have been involved in a national project to develop a campaign to encourage people to donate old furniture and appliances for re-use and recycling.

In 2012, the schemes were selected by national waste experts WRAP as one of six national pilots to develop and test a range of communications materials aimed at increasing re-use of textiles and bulky waste.

Now thanks to the success of their work the campaign is being rolled out nationally and so  all local authorities, charities and other re-use organisations across the UK can now have access to free tried and tested marketing materials to help promote their work.

The Shropshire pilot helped prove the effectiveness of the campaign by showing an increase in the amount of material they would normally collect for re-use.  In addition to this post campaign monitoring found that 45% of householders who recalled the communications said they will think about re-use more when getting rid of unwanted items in future.  The Shropshire pilot also had the highest level of recall of any of the pilots. 

The project which was delivered in partnership with the local authorities in Shropshire utilised a variety of communications activities including a leaflet drop to all households in the target area.  Other communications included press releases, roadshows, posters, banners, online and social media activity.

Instructions on how to access the full range of downloadable campaign materials are available now from the RecycleNow partners website.

What to do with old TV's in Shropshire

Television and Personal Computer monitors are potentially harmful due to their toxic heavy metal content, so you should handle with care and never put them in your household rubbish. You can safely recycle these items at any of the Council Household Recycling Centres (HRC's) in Shropshire & Telford.

Any display screens are accepted for recycling, including:

• Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) monitors

• Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) screens

• Plasma screens

• Personal Computer (PC) monitors

• Calculators

• Sat navs

• Laptops

All monitors are taken to an innovative charity called Recycling Lives in Preston, Lancashire for recycling.  The hazardous materials are safely removed and recycled and then the monitors are stripped for components. They are then smashed up to allow raw materials like plastics and metal to be separated and recycled.

For more information on this charity visit Preston Recycling Ltd

Bertie Bulb highlights recycling scheme for Shropshire

Bertie Bulb, the ‘low-energy light bulb on a high energy mission to recycle’ visited Shropshire recently to raise awareness of the importance of recycling low-energy light bulbs. 

  

In accordance with the EU WEEE (waste electrical and electronic equipment) Directive, low-energy light bulbs need to be recycled at the end of their life. And the best thing about these rules is that they require the manufacturers to pay for it all, so the whole scheme operates at no cost to the taxpayer.

Hence firms like Homebase are working in partnership with national scheme Recolight to offer in-store recycling at all their UK stores including the following sites in Shropshire: - 

• Homebase - Market Drayton - Towers Lawn, Cheshire St, Shropshire, TF9 3AA

• Homebase - Whitchurch - Waymills, Whitchurch, Shropshire, SY13 1RS

• Homebase - Shrewsbury - Sundorne Retail Park, Battlefield Road, SY1 4YA

• Homebase - Oswestry - Penda Retail Park, Salop Road, Shropshire, SY11 2RL

• Homebase - Telford - Wrekin Retail Park, Telford, Shropshire, TF1 2DE

For more information contact Homebase directly on 0845 640 7540 ‎or visit their website

Shropshire children learning about recycling

School pupils across Shropshire have been learning more about recycling this month when ‘Recycler’ the rapping robot visited a dozen local primary schools. 


The initiative was sponsored by Shropshire Council's Waste Management section who are working in partnership with the national recycling charity Waste Watch.

The talking robot delivered action-packed inpsiring educational and fun assemblies where he raps/sings, moves, lights up and interacts with pupils to teach them how to reduce, reuse and recycle.

Throughout the performance, Recycler shows children how they can reduce their waste and put the three Rs into practice at home and at school, for example by making full use of local Council recycling schemes. This is all ultimately helping to reduce the environmental and financial burden of sending waste to landfill in Shropshire not just now but for the future as well.

Shirley Barre, Education Officer with Waste Watch, said:

“Every household in the UK throws away over one tonne of waste each year, and more than half of this could be recycled. A visit from Recycler is a great way for young people to learn about how important it is to reduce waste and to recycle as much as possible, at home and at school. Joining in with Recycler’s rap and watching the games, props and roleplays is a great way to remember important messages and take them home.”

Waste Watch, is a national, independent, not-for-profit organisation and a registered charity who advise, educate and inform people on ways to reduce all forms of waste. For more information visit www.wastewatch.org.uk or www.recyclezone.org.uk

Get composting advice and learn to grow your own

Shrewsbury grow your own food day

 

• Saturday 23/02/2013
• 10:00 to 15:00
• Shropshire Wildlife Trust, Abbey Foregate, Shrewsbury

Stock up on traditional and new varieties of seed potatoes, vegetable seeds and onion sets. Top quality peat-free compost on sale.

Shropshire Wildlife Trust's own expert John Hughes - fresh from his regular slot on Shropshire Radio's Gardening with Ryan Kennedy - will be offering useful tips on how to make the most of your vegetable plot between 10 and 12 and will be ready to answer all your gardening queries.

 

Advice and demonstrations from the Shropshire Master Composters and Shropshire Beekeepers. Fun activities for the kids and home-made refreshments available throughout the day. A great day out for all.  Free entry.

 

Wood recycling in Shropshire

You can recycle wood at the Councils Household Recycling Centres (HRC's) in Shropshire.

What wood can currently be recycled?

• All soft and hardwood offcuts
• Floorboards
• Skirting boards
• Pallets
• 'OSB' (orient standard board)
• Plywood
• Melamine and laminates
• Chipboard
• Doors
• Hardboard
• Treated, varnished or painted wood
• ‘MDF’ (Medium Density Fibreboard)
• Wooden boxes
• Wooden furniture
• Wooden window frames

What happens to the wood ?

It’s sent to A&A Recycling near Birmingham, a wood merchant who sorts the material into good clean wood which can be recycled and lower grade material used as biomass fuel to create 'green' energy.  Ultimately a lot of this material ends up back on the Shropshire / Wales border at the Kronospan factory in Chirk where it is used to make chipboard.   Recycled wood chip can also be used to make high quality animal bedding or sold on to the horticultural industry for mulching.
 

Why recycle wood?

We import 80% of the timber we use in the UK from abroad, so reusing and recycling wood in the UK helps our economy. Its good for the environment too because not only does recycling wood help to reduce the amount of rubbish which gets sent to landfill but its also saves energy and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

• A and A recycling
• Kronospan

Get composting and save a little extra

Shropshire residents still have 6 weeks to buy a discounted compost bin, before a price increase comes in to effect on 1 April 2013.

Shropshire & Telford Councils both work together in partnership with www.getcomposting.com to enable local residents to buy specially discounted home compost bins.

The standard compost bin on offer costs £16.  But from April 1st 2013, the price will rise to £16.99. There is also a Buy one Get One Half Price Offer, adding extra value to residents with larger gardens or those who team up with a friend or neighbour to buy a bin.


Compost bins can be ordered via www.getcomposting.com or you can call 0844 571 4444.