The theme of this year’s Recycle Week is Together We Recycle, as Liverpool cleans up ahead of Recycle Week.
Recycling rates in Liverpool have continued to rise with more and more residents doing their bit to protect the environment – even during the lockdown.
Figures collated by Liverpool City Council’s Recycling Team show that during May, despite Covid disruptions, the amount of green waste being recycled in the city increased by more than 1,000 tonnes when compared with the same time last year.
While during June the rate more than doubled to more than 4,053 tonnes when compared with June 2019.
And it doesn’t end there, because the team says that areas of the city that have had on-street communal bins installed have seen increases in the amount of recycling waste collected of up to 40 per cent.
In other areas of the city, residents have been encouraged to reclaim and adopt their alleyways, grow their own flowers and produce and have had composting bins installed to help recycle their food waste.
All this good news is a great start to national Recycle Week (September 21 – 27), which Liverpool City Council and its partners are supporting.
To mark the week, the city’s civic buildings will be lit up green throughout the week and residents are being encouraged to build on the good work by doing even more to cut down on waste.
Last year the council declared a Climate Change Emergency and while great strides have been made, the city’s overall recycling rate stands at 41 per cent.
The recycling team is urging everyone to adopt the mantra: Reduce, Re-use and Recycle and offers these potentially planet-saving tips:
· Don’t buy plastic unless you have to, buy a reusable container.
· Before you shop make a list of what you need to avoid unused food waste.
· Don’t dump discarded furniture on our streets – book a free Bulky Bobs collection.
· Only put recyclable material in your blue bin, if you don’t, it won’t be collected.
· Put your recyclables into the Blue Bin loose – don’t put them in a plastic bag.
· Take unwanted clothes and textiles to a charity bank or charity shop, don’t put them in the blue bin.
· Give home composting a go to re-use some food and garden waste and reduce the amount going into purple bin.
· Use your Household Waste Recycling Centres at Old Swan and Otterspool.
Cllr Laura Robertson-Collins, Liverpool City Council’s Cabinet Member for the Environment and Sustainability, said:
“As we begin national Recycle Week, it’s great news that so many people in our city have been doing more to recycle their household waste.
“There are some amazing initiatives taking place across Liverpool that we hope to highlight during this week.
“There are so many ways you can recycle your waste now and even if you only take some small steps, you’ll be helping to protect the environment and our city for future generations.
“The theme of this year’s Recycle Week is Together We Recycle – it’s clear from the figures that Liverpool is taking these words to heart.”
To find out more about how to recycle in Liverpool, visit: www.liverpool.gov.uk and search ‘recycling’.
