Scouting groups across England and Wales have been challenged to put their ‘recycling skills to the test’ as they compete against each other to recycle the most household packaging.

The ‘Ready, Set, Recycle’ environmental challenge started on 10 February and will run until 27 May.

The campaign is a collaborative initiative between The Scout Association and the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) ‘Recycle Now’ campaign, which encourages the public to recycle.

‘Ready, Set, Recycle’

As part of the challenge, Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Explorer Scouts have been tasked with recycling as much plastic, paper, card, metal and glass as they can at home.

Registered groups will also try to find new, creative ways of recycling and document the process with diaries, videos and photos. The unit with most creative videos and pictures will win a tablet device.

Scouts can track progression of other groups online via the Scout Association website. The site offers information on which items can be recycled in household collections, as well as recycling facts and tips.

The website will also enable each unit to see how much energy they have saved for each type of waste collected, measured in quantities such as seconds to power a microwave or minutes to power a television.

The Scout group recycling the most items at the end of the challenge will win a tour of a recycling plant from one of Recycle Now’s partners and goody bags from Recycle Now. Their recycling efforts will also contribute towards an Environmental Conservation Activity Badge.

Encouraging “young people to make a positive impact”

Commenting on the partnership, Marcus Gover, Director at WRAP, said: “The ‘Ready, Set, Recycle’ challenge is a positive way to engage the whole family and get them recycling more at home. We see this campaign as an excellent opportunity for our partners to demonstrate how they are helping local communities to understand more about recycling and contribute to improving the quantity and quality of what is collected.

“The Scout Association is well known for the work it does to encourage young people to help their local communities, so we are extremely pleased to also be supporting the Environmental Conservation Activity Badge.”

Hannah Kentish, UK Scouting’s Youth Commissioner, added: “We’re always encouraging our young people to make a positive impact within their local communities. It’s a great way to help make the world a better place.

“Preserving our environment is very much part of Scouting’s core values. With the help of Recycle Now, we’ll be encouraging our young people and their families to recycle as much as possible”.

Environment Minister Rory Stewart said: “As the future custodians of our environment, it is hugely important young people start enjoying and valuing nature and their surroundings at an early age.

“I welcome this competition which will give young people across the country the chance to learn about recycling in a fun and rewarding setting.”

‘Ready, Set, Recycle’ editorial and digital materials are available by emailing partnerenquiries@wrap.org.uk