National Recycle Week 2022
17 October 2022
This year's Recycle Week is a great chance for us all to double our efforts to recycle more and get the answers to those questions which may be holding us back from doing all we can.
With 95% of Welsh citizens regularly recycling, it is no wonder that at a nation we are third best in the recycling world rankings. Over the past decade or so, recycling in Powys has soared. We're now recycling over 66% of our waste, up from just 36.5% in 2010. But if we're to help Wales reach the coveted top slot we need to do even more, as Cllr Jackie Charlton, Cabinet Member for a Greener Powys, explains:
"Thanks to the people of Powys, we are already one of the top performing recycling counties in Wales, but as ever our dedicated recyclers often have questions about what can and can't be recycled. Many of us are guilty of wish-recycling - putting something in the recycling bin and hoping it will be recycled, even if we are unsure if it should be there or not.
"But can the addition of one wrong item in our recycling boxes really be that bad? Sadly, yes, non-recyclable items (even if they are similar to those being collected) can cause contamination of all the good recycling. This can result in needing extra resource to remove the offending items or, in extreme cases, end up with the collected lorry load of recycling being rejected by the recycling processors. None of us want that to happen".
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A full list of what can and can't be recycled from home in our recycling boxes can be found online, but put simply, this is what we want in your weekly recycling collections:
Food caddy
Meat and fish, including small bones
Cheese
Vegetables and fruit
Egg shells
Stale bread, cakes and pastries
Cereals, rice, pasta and beans
Tea bags and coffee grounds
Red box
Clean food and drink cans
Aluminium foil
Clean plastic bottles (rinsed, squashed and lids removed)
Plastic bottle tops and lids
Metal bottle tops and jar lids
Kitchen and bathroom aerosols cans
Clean plastic food trays
Clean pots and tubs
Clean cartons (Tetrapaks)
Blue box
Newspapers and magazines
Catalogues and directories
Junk mail
Paper
White envelopes
Shredded paper (in envelope or wrapped in paper)
Brown card (as long as it fits in the container)
Aqua box
Clean glass bottles and jars (lids removed)
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We understand that some people worry about what happens to items collected in the kerbside collections, but your efforts are not in vain. Every correctly recycled item is processed and recycled. Even the non-recyclable rubbish collected in the black wheeled bins is sent to an energy from waste facility which produces electricity. You can check the most up-to-date arrangements for kerbside materials on our website here: What happens to my collected recycling and waste?
"Recycling is now the norm in Powys and most of us recycle every week." Continued Cllr Charlton. "By working hard to find contracts which ensure the county's waste is recycled, here in the UK, and with the support of the Powys people we on the right path for helping to do our bit to combat climate change.
"We should all be proud of our recycling efforts, but we must keep up our good work. Let's continue to recycle the correct items from all around the home and help Powys remain a clean, green and environmentally friendly place to live for generations to come."
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