Communities across Wales are marking Recycle Week (20 – 26 June) with events which illustrate just how easy it is to recycle – and what the benefits are.
Celebrations got underway early in Cardiff, with a ‘Really Rubbish’ awards ceremony for green schools on 16 June. Schools are also involved on Anglesey, where several of the island’s Eco Schools are holding waste-free picnics.
Elsewhere, local authorities across the country are holding information days to help people learn more about recycling at home and on the move. Barry Island and Llantwit Major are among the stops in the Vale of Glamorgan for a beach roadshow telling people about recycling.
Recycle Week also marks the start of new recycling services for some areas. In Conwy, 40,000 homes will receive weekly recycling collections starting in Recycle Week, while people living in flats in Wrexham will be targeted by a ‘Recycling on the Up’ scheme to help them recycle more.
For many councils, the week will be focused on encouraging people to make the most of their food waste collections. Unlike elsewhere in the UK, every council in Wales runs a separate food or food and green waste collection; over 82 per cent of homes now receive the service, with 100 per cent coverage in some areas. By the end of the year around 90 per cent of homes across Wales will have a separate food or food and green waste collection.
In Swansea, food is at the heart of a packed week of activities, which include a low carbon cook-off, an afternoon tea round-table about the future of food, food tastings and a cookery session. In Milford Haven, the council has teamed up with Pembrokeshire Fish Week to tell people about food waste collections and composting at home, while Caerphilly, Neath Port Talbot and Torfaen waste teams will all be out and about with information stands.
