A week of activities was held on Anglesey as part of ‘National Recycle Week’ 20-26 June by the Isle of Anglesey County Council Waste and Recycling Team. With ‘Environmental Action Days’ recycling 18 tonnes of waste, children at Ysgol y Graig having a ‘Waste Free Snack’ and the team taking the recycling message to ‘LL65 Live’, Holyhead.
“We have had a great week of recycling as part of ‘National Recycling Week’ we all need to continue to recycle as much of our waste as possible and not put ‘recyclables’ into the black bin that goes to landfill,” says Elin Jones, Isle of Anglesey County Council Senior Waste Management Officer.
The ‘Environmental Action Days’ at Gwalchmai and Isgraig Llangefni, Anglesey took away 20 skips of waste with 12 of those skips containing wood and metal which was sent for recycling. “Our Environmental Action Days encourage residents to dispose of their waste responsibly and discourage fly tipping or dumping of waste illegally,” says Elin.
Pupils at Ysgol y Graig worked with the Isle of Anglesey Waste Promotions team and Keep Wales Tidy to hold a ‘Waste Free Snack’. The week before a presentation was given to the children about waste and food packaging and a letter was sent home. The team returned and had great fun with the children seeing all the different ways snacks were prepared to avoid creating waste and without packaging.
“The children were amazing and brought in a variety of snacks; crackers and cheese or jelly in reusable pots was a very popular tasty treat. The pupils are very enthusiastic about recycling and it is a pleasure to encourage them to be part of a greener future,” says Eirian Williams from the Isle of Anglesey Waste Promotions team.
The recycling message was taken to the very successful ‘LL65 Live’ in Holyhead on Saturday 25th June. Residents and visitors to the event were encouraged to take a re-useable bag when shopping. “Placing a re-useable shopping bag by the front door, in the car or in your handbag means you never need to use plastic bags at the supermarket, which is great for the environment,” says Elin.
On Anglesey 57% of household waste is sent for recycling. ‘National Recycling Week’ helps us to focus on putting less in our black bin that goes to landfill. Last year 95% of all materials put out for recycling, in the UK, were successfully and usefully recycled.
To find out what items can be recycled and where go to www.wasteawarenesswales.org.uk. “A recent survey has shown that 75% of people in Wales are ‘committed recyclers’ and we thank the recylers and to encourage everyone to join in,” says Elin.
