Celebrate key workers and keep recycling this Recycle Week

For this year's Recycle Week, Wiltshire Council is urging its residents to continue recycling despite the challenges that COVID-19 has presented.

Now in its 17th year, the theme for the 2020 Recycle Week, which runs from 21-27 September, is 'Together We Recycle', which celebrates key workers for keeping collections going throughout the past six months, and urges residents and businesses to keep recycling despite the challenging times.

In Wiltshire, no household recycling collection services were suspended during the lockdown period, with 31,923 tonnes of recycling and composting managed through the council's kerbside collections between April and July. Only 17 tonnes of waste collected at the kerbside was sent to landfill during this period, with the rest sent for treatment and energy production.

In the financial year 2019-20, Wiltshire Council managed 223,214 tonnes of waste, of which 45%, or 101,364 tonnes, was recycled, composted or re-used; and 95% of that was managed within the UK. The council also diverted 88,317 tonnes of waste from landfill during this period and only sent 15% of its waste, 33,533 tonnes, to landfill.

Cllr Philip Whitehead, Leader of Wiltshire Council, said: "This year, Recycle Week is a chance to celebrate the great work that all of the kerbside collection crews, recycling sorting facility workers and household recycling centre teams have done during difficult circumstances, and I'd like to thank them for everything they're doing.

"Our kerbside service collected 6,912 tonnes of recycling and composting last month, which is good, but we can all do more to recycle in Wiltshire and increase this further.

"Recycling Week is also a good opportunity to remind people to put the correct things into their blue-lidded kerbside recycling bins and black boxes, as contaminants can cause harm to the people who sort the recycling and lower our recycling rate.

"Any large or electrical items should be taken to your nearest household recycling centre, rather than put in the blue-lidded bin. Electrical items or old batteries can also be taken to electrical retailers, who are obliged to take them back for recycling."

See the full list of items that should go into blue-lidded bins and black boxes.