​Recycling. We do. Because it matters.

National Recycle week is coming up from 24 to 30 September and this year’s theme is ‘Recycling. We do. Because it matters’.

Throughout Recycle Week a roadshow will be touring Greater Manchester at which residents will be able to ask questions and get all the latest tips and advice. In Bury, the roadshow will pop up at The Co-Op store, Mile Lane, Bury on Thursday 27 September and residents are encouraged to come along to meet their local recycling team.

Now in its 15^th year, Recycle Week celebrates recycling and aims to encourage everyone to recycle more by demonstrating the benefits of recycling items from all around the home.

New research from Recycle Now shows that more than half (56%) of people in Greater Manchester put at least one item in the general rubbish bin that could be recycled instead; while 86% put items in their recycling bins that are not recyclable locally.

As part of Recycle Week, residents in Bury and across Greater Manchester are being encouraged to take some simple steps to make their recycling efforts better than ever. Top tips for Bury residents include:

• Put all types of plastic bottle in your blue mixed recycling bin, including drinks bottles, milk bottles, cleaning product bottles, trigger spray bottles and shampoo and shower gel bottles
• Put all other types of plastic such as plastic bags, packaging, pots, tubs and trays in your grey bin for waste you can’t recycle.
• Try to reduce the amount of non-recyclable waste you have; for example, choose products with minimal or recyclable packaging.
• Always keep in mind that, although waste in grey bins is now sent to Viridor energy from waste plant in Runcorn, we are charged for every tonne that is treated, whereas we receive an income from recycling provided that all the right stuff is in the right bin.

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said: “The residents of Greater Manchester are embracing calls to recycle and I’d like to thank them for their hard work and commitment to recycling right.

“We all need to do our bit and Recycle Week provides us all with a good opportunity to review our recycling habits and see where we can do even better - sometimes it’s the small steps that make the real difference. Let’s make our recycling in Greater Manchester better than ever.”

Councillor Alan Quinn, cabinet member for the environment at Bury Council, said: “This year, David Attenborough and his TV series Blue Planet 2 motivated people to think about plastics in a way they never have before. Plastics from our cities end up in our oceans via our rivers and are now being found in the fish we eat. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch covers an area of 1.6 million square kilometres; plastic is as big a threat to our environment as climate change. There’s never been a more vital time to drive home the message about recycling all plastic bottles in the blue recycling bin.

“Recycling and re-using things is really beneficial – it’s great for our environment and it saves energy too. For example, if everyone in Greater Manchester recycled one more bathroom cleaner bottle, it would save enough energy to power a primary school for two years. So if you are a still a bit of a recycling sceptic, please do think again. Everyone should recycle as much as they can because it matters, every item really does count.”

For more information about recycling in Bury and to sign-up for reminders for bin collections visit www.bury.gov.uk/recycling. To find out more about Recycle Week, visit www.recycleforgreatermanchester.com

ENDS

Press release issued: 19 September 2018.

Picture: Councillor Alan Quinn, cabinet member for the environment with the GM recycling mascot and local residents Mr and Mrs Wong and family.

Note to editors:

About Recycle for Greater Manchester

Recycle for Greater Manchester is the public facing brand of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) Waste & Resource Team. We work with local councils in Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside and Trafford to inspire and encourage the residents of Greater Manchester to manage their waste responsibly, helping residents to see the value of waste and the real benefits that can be achieved by wasting less and recycling right. For more information about Recycle for Greater Manchester visit: www.recycleforgreatermanchester.com

About Recycle Week

Recycle Week is the UK’s annual event to build awareness of, and encourage increased participation in recycling behaviour. It is organised by WRAP under the Recycle Now brand and will take place this year in the last week of September (24-30 September).

About Recycle Now

Recycle Now is a campaign run by WRAP which helps people in the UK recycle more things, more often, from all around the home. The campaign aims to encourage behaviour change across the UK to reduce the amount of waste produced and use resources in an efficient way. For more information about Recycle Now visit: www.recyclenow.com