Recycling Roundup 7th May

Recycling Roundup 7^th May

The Essex-Windsor Solid Waste Authority has introduced an app that sends notifications to residents’ phones to make sure they put their recyclables out on the correct day. The app, which is called Recycle Coach, allows residents to make a custom calendar and includes reminders about bin and box recycling days, notifications about delayed collections, and there’s even a quiz which will tell you how ‘green’ you are. The authority said that reaching people electronically is the best way to reach them nowadays, and that other areas have had a lot of success with similar schemes. 3000 local authorities around the world currently use the app, and 2200 residents have already registered to use it. Residents will continue to receive a traditional collection calendar as well as being given the opportunity to use the app.

Children at Bright Horizons Elsie Inglis Early Learning and Childcare nursery in Edinburgh have begun collecting bottle tops as a way of contributing to recycling. The children bring the lids from home and sort them into separate tubs at the nursery. Nursery staff are also getting involved in the project. As well as helping the environment, collecting the lids also helps the children to learn; teaching them to sort the lids by size and colour, and encouraging them to count.

The Environment Secretary had just opened the new AO fridge recycling plant in Telford. More than 200 jobs have been created and the plant is set to recycle more than 700,000 fridges every year, making it the biggest household appliance recycling plant in Europe.

The company’s recycling division manager said that in its first year, the plant will process around one fifth of the fridges that are discarded in the UK, as well as washing machines, dishwashers, tumble driers and other household appliances.

He added that more than 3 million fridges are thrown away in the UK every year, along with millions of other household appliances. Cardboard is also recycled at the plant, and some appliances are refurbished and sold in second-hand outlets.

There has been a lot of focus on the disposal of plastic waste in recent months, but the plant in Telford wants to make the safe, clean, and environmentally-friendly disposal of electronics a priority too, and they want to get as many valuable materials from the waste as possible.

The plant brings a major boost to the economy, creating jobs and making Telford a centre of excellence for recycling.

The Environment Secretary said that the plant is a clear step by a British business to increase the UK’s capacity for recycling household appliances. She added that looking after the environment is everyone’s responsibility and that if businesses, individuals, and the government work together, it will help protect the planet for future generations.