Over half of the UK’s population wants to know more about what their recycling gets turned into, according to results from WRAP’s annual recycling tracker, informing the theme of Recycle Week 2017.
This year’s week of action and awareness, organised by WRAP, has the theme of ‘Recycling - it’s worth it’ to reflect the public’s scepticism over the use of materials being put out for recycling.
The results from the tracker corroborate with those from a similar survey carried out by the Resource Association last year, which found that two-thirds of respondents felt that more information about the end destinations of their recycling should be available for householders, with 44 per cent saying that they would be more likely to recycle if they had more of an idea of where their recycling collections were taken and what they were used for.
Each day of Recycle Week, which began yesterday (25 September), will focus on a different material and the transformation that it can undergo into new, useful products. A new animation every day will show what everyday items can be turned into.
Monday looked at metal, and how a deodorant can could be transformed into a mobile phone. As the week goes on animations will cover plastic (a cleaning bottle to playground sets), food waste (leftovers from baking to electricity), paper and card (a toothpaste box into a box of sweets), glass (a jar of pasta sauce to energy saved to power an oven) and plastic again (a shampoo bottle to football shirts), before finishing on Sunday with food waste once more, looking at how leftovers from a roast can be turned into compost that can help grow more dinners.
Linda Crichton, Head of Resource Management at WRAP, said: “Recycle Week is a great opportunity to remind people why their recycling efforts are worth it. We know from our research that there is still some confusion over certain items, but there is also the appetite to understand more about recycling, and some people want to be really good recyclers, which is really encouraging.
“We have to get the right messages out there about exactly what can be recycled and the more support we can get, the better! Last year the campaign reached over 10 million people and we want to reach even more this year.”
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How will the government and DMOs address the challenges of including glass in DRS while ensuring a level playing field across the UK?
There's no easy solution to include glass in the DRS while maintaining a level playing field. Potential approaches include a phased introduction of glass, potentially with higher deposits to reflect its logistical challenges. The government and DMOs could incentivise innovation in glass packaging design and subsidise dedicated return points for glass-handling. Exemptions for smaller businesses unable to handle glass might also be necessary. Any successful solution will likely blend several approaches. It must address the differing priorities of devolved administrations, balance environmental benefits with logistical and cost implications, and be supported by robust consumer education campaigns emphasizing the importance of glass recycling.