This week is National Recycle Week and local industry experts Binn Group are encouraging people in Perthshire to view their waste as a resource rather than rubbish and step up their recycling efforts.
Running from September 12 to 18, National Recycle Week has taken “Unusual Suspects” as its theme for 2016, asking people to hunt down the less obvious recyclable materials that many can overlook when they segregate their waste.
Jim Brown, Commercial Director with the country’s leading independent waste management and recycling company Binn Group, praised the high level of recycling being carried out by the Perthshire public already but urged people to use this campaign week as the perfect time to identify lost opportunities.
“Recycling is already making a big difference thanks to the dedication of Perthshire residents,” he said. “Recycling is vitally important. It saves energy which helps the environment so we need everyone to keep up the good work!
“Recycle Week is an ideal time for Perthshire residents to really take a fresh look at their recycling habits and see if there are opportunities to recycle even more items,” added Mr Brown. “There are lots of things that can be recycled, but some are lesser known or more ‘unusual’ than others. These are the bits and pieces we want to raise awareness of during Recycle Week.”
People have become accustomed to recycling items such as plastic drinks bottles, cans, glass, cardboard, food and paper but Recycle Week wants us to turn our attention to “Unusual Suspects” such as aerosol cans, toilet roll tubes, tissue boxes, shampoo and conditioner bottles, glass beauty product jars, perfume and aftershave bottles which can escape people’s recycling habits.
Mr Brown emphasised the many great benefits in recycling, with some materials recycled over and over again with no loss of quality. Recycled plastic bottles for example can transform their identity to the point they are unrecognisable – being reborn as children’s toys, t-shirts, fleeces or garden furniture.
Binn Group recycling collected throughout Perthshire is taken to Binn EcoPark near Glenfarg where the materials are sorted, separated and processed before being sent to manufacturers who make it into new products. This saves resources, helps the environment, reduces energy use and supports a thriving recycling economy.
And the benefits of the work being carried out at Binn Group alone are staggering. For example:
Every year, the company recycles enough metal to build a 2m high chainlink fence from John O’Groats to Land’s End.
Binn Group recycles enough metal to build more than 500 double decker buses each year.
They recycle enough cardboard each year to produce over 11 million shoeboxes – that’s enough for two pairs of shoes each for everyone in Scotland.
Almost 9 million kg of plastic is recycled by Binn Group every year – enough to build a poly-tunnel stretching from Perth to Prague!
The soil and rubble recycled by Binn Group every year could build almost 40km of road – enough to stretch from Perth to Dundee.
Binn Group recycles enough food waste to feed over 12,000 people for a whole year.
National Recycle Week is a nationwide initiative to encourage people to recycle more and work together to help reduce the amount our we send to landfill. To see the full identity-parade of wanted unusual suspects, visit Recycle Now