Recycle Week: This year Cheltenham is joining The BIG Recycling Hunt

This week, Recycle Now and Cheltenham Borough Council are launching a fun mission for primary school children with The Big Recycling Hunt.

The central theme of this year's campaign shines a bright spotlight on missing recyclables and aims to engage children and families in a quest to find 'lost recyclables' that often find their way into the rubbish bin.

Primary schools in the borough have been sent fun information packs to encourage their children to get involved with The Big Recycling Hunt, with their families, to find frequently missed items in their homes to recycle.

By focusing on missed items such as empty aerosols, plastic cleaning product bottles, plastic toiletry bottles, plastic pots and tubs, Recycle Now wants to encourage a greater understanding of recycling in the younger generation. With a week of fun activities, the campaign aims to empower young people to become more active with helping to build a sustainable future.

Cllr Iain Dobie, cabinet member for waste, recycling and street services, said: “We are excited to be supporting Recycle Week and we hope that children and families will get involved in the hunt to find these lost recyclables – and most importantly, that the campaign will inspire a younger generation of recycling champions.”

Harriet Lamb, chief executive of WRAP, says: “The importance of this initiative extends beyond Recycle Week. By empowering children with the knowledge and tools to become recycling advocates, we are not only nurturing the future but also ensuring a healthier and more sustainable world for all. Join us in celebrating Recycle Week and empowering the next generation of environmental champions!”

Craig Stephens, campaign manager for Recycle Now, said: “By recycling even better we can have a big impact on our environment. In Cheltenham it’s no different – more and more people are recycling, so the next step is to make sure we hunt down these missed items and get our recycling right. So come on, Cheltenham, keep up the great work and let’s make our recycling better than ever before!”

Recycling doesn’t have to be confusing. To find out what can be recycled in your area, use our waste wizard. To find out more about Recycle Week and The Big Recycling Hunt take a look at the The Action Pack.

In Cheltenham, the council will be supporting Recycle Week by sharing a number of helpful tips and advice across its social media channels.

Top tips for recycling in Cheltenham include:

• No broken glass in your recycling box. Broken glass is and poses a to you and our operatives collecting and emptying recycling boxes. Small pieces of broken glass should be wrapped carefully and placed into your refuse bin. Large pieces of broken glass should be taken to your nearest county council household recycling centre
• If you have space, please use one green recycling box for glass and another for paper. If you do not have room for an additional recycling box, please separate your paper and glass in one box, with glass on the top and paper on the bottom
• All brown paper must be put into your blue bag
• Wash, squash and recycle your plastic pots, tubs and trays in your green recycling box
• Give your empty drink cans a second try and recycle them at the kerbside in your green box
• Make sure to flatten and tear up your cardboard boxes and recycle them in your blue bag.

For more information about recycling in Cheltenham please visit our web pages.

To find out more about Recycle Week visit www.recyclenow.org.uk/RecycleWeek.

For media enquiries, contact: communications, telephone 01242 264231, email [email protected].