It pays to recycle right says Luton Council

Now in its eighteenth year, Recycle Week, is the nation’s biggest annual celebration of recycling and this year, Recycle Now are asking residents across the UK to Get Real about Recycling.

This year’s campaign questions where we are, where we want to be and how we’re all going to get there, together. Luton Council is supporting Recycle Now by promoting their focus on three common questions that many people have when it comes to recycling:

>Does my recycling really make a difference?

>One item in the bin can’t hurt, can it?

>Recycling is so confusing, Isn’t it?

Recycle Now have provided recycling information and insights to all local authorities to answer these questions, and to help clarify that by recycling people really can make a difference. Recycling in the UK saves 18 million tonnes of Co2 a year – all these factors reduce greenhouse gas emissions which lead to climate change and in Luton, will help achieve its net zero targets by 2040.

Getting recycling right in Luton will have an impact. One wrong item in the recycling bin from each person can make whole lorry loads unrecyclable and as a local authority, it costs money in the long-run as contaminated recycling is rejected. Getting recycling right also helps fight climate change.

Cllr Tom Shaw, portfolio holder responsible for waste and recycling said: “Recycling doesn’t have to be confusing. We have lots of guidance explaining what should and shouldn’t go in each bin and we actively promote this. The key messages to remember are that any items should be washed, squashed and placed loose in your green recycling bin, or in clear plastic sacks.

“Black, white or any colour plastic bags of recycling placed in green recycling bins mean they cannot be collected, and please do not put nappies, food waste, glass bottles and jars or electrical goods in there – you should put food wastes and nappies in your black bin, put glass bottles and jars in the black box and take the rest to your local tidy tip.”

“Many residents are recycling right, which is great for the town, but we really want to encourage everyone in Luton to do so.”

All household material collected for recycling in Luton is taken to material recycling facilities based in the UK although a small percentage goes to Europe. Here the contents are sorted and the plastic items processed and turned into fragments suitable to be manufactured into new, high quality, plastic goods such as reusable bags.

Collected glass and paper is also sent to plants in the UK with glass processed into high quality finished products for the food, drinks and pharmaceuticals industries and paper to make corrugated material and fine paper.

If you’re unsure about what should go in each bin, or when your collection day is, visit www.luton.gov.uk/lutonbins or download the Luton Bins App.

To find out more about Recycle Week visit www.recyclenow.org.uk/RecycleWeek