Don’t forget to recycle your barbeque leftovers

Not only does reducing landfill have benefits in terms of environmental impact, it also helps reduce extra costs to the council.

The council is working to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill by encouraging householders to reduce, reuse and recycle as much as possible. Whilst enjoying a barbeque it’s worth remembering that items such as plastic bottles, empty glass bottles, and cans and tins can be put in the green recycling box, and half eaten burgers, hotdogs and leftover salad can be put in the food waste caddy.

Scott Williams, strategic client officer, added: “In Cheltenham nearly half of all the waste collected is being recycled and in order to increase this rate we want to remind residents that there are many ways for them to recycle more of their household waste. It is so important for everyone to get involved and do their bit. When using the kerbside recycling box collections we’re asking all residents to crush cans and tins, flatten kitchen card and segregate their recycling materials wherever possible. This allows us to collect more on our vehicles, which cuts down on the number of journeys to the recycling station, saving time, fuel and the impact on the environment. To make this easier, additional recycling boxes are available from the council by contacting our customer service team.”

There are many ways to recycle:

Recycling at home
An extensive range of items can be recycled in the green kerbside recycling boxes that are collected fortnightly - including paper, kitchen card, all types of glass bottles and jars, food and drink cans and household aerosols, clean foil containers, and all types of plastic bottles such as milk, squash, cleaning, bleach, detergent, and toiletry bottles.

Food waste
Food caddies are emptied every week, and all cooked and uncooked food is taken. Local residents are asked to recycle their raw and cooked fruit and vegetables, meat and fish, including skin and bones; cheese and other dairy products, eggs and egg shells, small amounts of liquids, oil and fat; and bread, cakes and pastries as well as any left over barbeque food!

Garden waste
The garden waste collection service offers a far better way to dispose of this kind of waste than going to landfill, where it produces methane and lechate which are harmful to the environment. Local residents can subscribe to the service and they receive a brown wheeled bin in which to present their garden waste. The brown bin is emptied fortnightly, on the alternate week to the kerbside recycling boxes.

Recycling in the town centre
There are now 10 dual recycling litter bins around the town centre which can be used to recycle plastic bottles, drink cans and paper when people are out and about.

Recycling banks
There are 19 bring sites around the borough in different car parks, community centres, shopping centres and near some parks. Please visit the council’s website and search for ‘recycling banks’.

Recycling at the Swindon Road Recycling Centre
The Council's recycling centre on the Swindon Road accepts all recyclables that can be put in the green kerbside boxes, and also accepts garden waste, mixed textiles, clothes and shoes, drinks cartons, cardboard, wood and timber, large electrical appliances, florescent tubes, fridges and freezers, batteries, low energy bulbs, car batteries, scrap metal, used engine oil and books.

To request an additional green recycling box to be delivered at no extra charge or to subscribe to the garden waste collection service, please contact the council’s customer service team on 01242 262626 or email.

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For press enquiries contact: Kelly Carter, communications officer, telephone 01242 264154 or email [email protected].