Recycle for Hampshire

Recycle for Hampshire News

11 July 2012:  Recycle Week sparks electrical recycling buzz in Hampshire

Hampshire residents ‘charged’ to local recycling points during Recycle Week last month to recycle their unwanted or broken small electrical items. The week long event saw almost seven and a half tonnes of appliances like toasters, hairdryers and mobile phones recycled having been delivered to special collection points across the County – that’s the equivalent of more than 9,000 kettles!

Recycle Week 2012 took place from 18-24 June, and over the course of the week almost 100 events were held across the county at schools, community centres, libraries and workplaces. At each event, residents young and old brought along items that had been stashed away in cupboards or sheds to give them a new lease of life. A wide range of small household appliances were donated, including a hairdryer originating from 1974 which was still in its original packaging!

All of the items delivered were collected by our electrical waste partner, WeeeCare Ltd, to be broken down into their various components and then recycled, ensuring that the metals and minerals used to create them are not wasted. Suitable items in good condition were tested and donated to local charities to be reused.

Chair of the Project Integra Strategic Board, Councillor Leslie Keeble, said: I am delighted to hear that so many unwanted or broken electrical items were donated by Hampshire residents during Recycle Week.  Small electricals are the fastest growing waste stream in the UK, and can cause harm to the environment if not disposed of properly.  These events highlighted once again the commitment of Hampshire residents and will set in stone further good practice for the future.”

Recycle Week may be over, but all types of electrical household appliances, large and small, can be taken all year round to one of the 26 Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) in Hampshire for recycling or safe disposal – residents can locate their nearest facility here


6 June 2012:  Is your toaster toast? Go gadget-crazy during Recycle Week 2012!

Got any burned out sandwich toasters, broken kettles or other unwanted electrical items lying about gathering dust at home?

Then bring them along to special collection points being set up by Recycle for Hampshire to mark National Recycle Week 2012 (18 - 24 June).

Research shows that most people have all kinds of unwanted electrical items such as mobile phones, DVD players or hairdryers stored in drawers, cupboards or sheds - usually because they don’t know what else to do with them once they are replaced. New regulations mean that electrical items are restricted from landfill as they contain hazardous material, but instead of disposing of them properly, these items are often left to accumulate at home.

To highlight how easy it is to recycle small electricals, local authorities across Hampshire are hosting special ‘bring day’ events at schools, workplaces, libraries and other locations during Recycle Week. Residents are being challenged to drop off unwanted or broken small electricals for free, in return for entering a competition  where they can win some great gadgets, courtesy of our partners WeeeCare.

All events will accept any small portable electrical or electronic items with a plug or batteries that can be easily carried by one person, apart from televisions or monitors.

Hampshire residents who want to do their bit and recycle their unwanted electricals all year round can use one of the 26 household waste recycling centres (HWRCs). Items that can be repaired may be donated to local charities, or sold at HWRCs for spares. Those items that are beyond repair are broken up into raw materials and recycled into new products.

Chair of the Project Integra waste partnership’s Strategic Board, Councillor Leslie Keeble, commented: “Most people actively recycle a lot of things like paper and metals, but don’t realise how easy it is to recycle electrical items too. A typical domestic iron contains enough steel to make 13 food cans, so by recycling your broken or unwanted item you are ensuring that valuable natural materials are conserved and not wasted, helping the environment too.

“We are inviting everyone to use this opportunity to have a clear-out of any small electricals they no longer need and to make use of the drop-off points around the county during Recycle Week. This will help boost Hampshire’s excellent record for diverting rubbish from landfill so remember - ‘don’t bin it, bring it!’”

Recycle Week 2012 takes place between 18-24 June. Visit our Recycle Week website to find a collection event near you, or to locate your nearest HWRC.

Radio quality audio for download (mp3 files): Interview with John Redmayne, Project Integra Executive Director -

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Reduce your waste and help your garden to blossom this summer

Although the weather might not feel like it, Spring is underway and it’s time again for the annual international Compost Awareness Week (CAW). The event, which is now in its twelfth year, will be held from 6-12 May 2012, and Recycle for Hampshire is encouraging all Hampshire residents to “Give Back to the Earth” in line with this year’s theme to promote the making and use of compost at home.

Households in England throw away around four million tonnes of waste every year that could have been composted, which is the same weight as 20,000 jumbo jets!  Home composting not only helps to significantly reduce carbon emissions, it is also an effective and sustainable waste management method to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill.

One of the easiest ways to get composting is to buy or build your own compost bin at home, and now is the perfect time to get started.  Through Recycle for Hampshire, householders can purchase home compost bins for as little as £16 plus delivery (£5.49). Your compost bin can take many materials including vegetable peelings, garden clippings, teabags, shredded paper, egg shells, and even the contents of your vacuum cleaner bag!

Councillor Leslie Keeble, Chair of the Project Integra waste partnership* Strategic Board, said: “Most people don’t realise that up to 30% of their household bin is made up of organic waste which can be turned into compost.  Composting is an inexpensive, natural process that transforms your kitchen and garden waste into a valuable and nutrient rich food for your garden.  It's both easy to make and use.  Home compost can improve soil structure, maintain moisture levels and help to keep your soil's PH balance in check while helping to suppress plant disease.”

Alternatively, by taking your garden waste to your local Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC), or making use of the garden waste collection service in your area if available, you will be contributing to the creation of Pro-Grow, an award-winning organic soil conditioner made from garden waste across Hampshire and available to buy at all HWRCs.

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Recycle for Hampshire turns sad rags into glad rags!

Schools and businesses across Hampshire collected over six tonnes of clothes, shoes and textiles for charity in just one week as part of events for national Recycle Week 2011. That’s the same weight as an African elephant in materials which might otherwise have been thrown away!

Over 35 schools and businesses took part in dress-down days with a difference organised by Recycle for Hampshire. In return for wearing causal dress, staff and pupils were asked to bring in unwanted items of clothing and textiles, which were then donated to charities and organisations operating on behalf of charities to sell on to raise much needed funds.

More than 500 people also entered a competition offering chances to win prizes made from recycled textiles and family days out at stands and displays across the county.

Recycle Week is an annual event aimed at encouraging people to recycle more items, more often. The 2011 event ran from 20th – 26th June and saw Recycle for Hampshire encouraging residents to recycle more of their unwanted textiles.

Around 14,000 tonnes of textiles were thrown away in Hampshire last year, when they could have been recycled! Furthermore, the majority of people are unaware of the harmful impact on the environment – a new poll1 conducted by Recycle Now reveals that nationally, only 39 per cent of us consider the environmental impact of throwing our clothes away. Existing research2&3 shows that production of clothes is a major drain on natural resources – it uses up to10 times more energy than the production of steel or glass!

Councillor Edward Heron, Deputy Chair of Project Integra, said: “Hampshire residents already recycle an impressive 40% of household waste including everyday items like paper, glass, cans and plastic bottles, but we can always build on our existing habits.

“A huge amount of natural resources go into the production of textiles, so it’s just as important to recycle them as reusing or recycling any other material. And with textile recycling banks almost as widespread as bottle banks4 across the county it’s just as easy to recycle your old textiles too.”

To find your nearest recycling bank, visit: www.recycleforhampshire.org.uk.

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Hampshire’s approach to recycling endorsed by leading engineering body

Project Integra, the partnership of all local authorities in Hampshire welcomes a new report from the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) which endorses the partnership’s focus on high quality recycling.

The ICE report highlights the dangers of chasing quantity of materials at the cost of quality. Hampshire authorities have consistently focussed on collecting high quality materials; enabling us to develop sustainable markets for recyclables and ensuring that items put out for recycling by Hampshire residents are put to the best possible use to make new products.

Chair of the Project Integra Strategic Board, Councillor Matthew Dean, said: “We’re delighted that the approach developed by Hampshire has been recognised by the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) as the right way to manage resources, and I’d like to thank all of Hampshire’s committed recyclers who continue to help by recycling the right materials”

All of the recyclable materials from Hampshire's kerbside collections (cans, plastic bottles, paper, card, tins and empty aerosols) are sent to one of two Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) in the county, where they are sorted and sent to reprocessors for recycling into new products. Regular monitoring helps us to maintain the quality at every stage of the collection and sorting process, while the Recycle for Hampshire campaign provides residents with information about what can and can’t be recycled, in order to further improve the quality of recyclables sent for reprocessing.

By collecting only the products that the markets really want and sorting them to a high standard, strong and lasting relationships have been established with reprocessors because they know that they can rely on high quality material from Hampshire. For example we are a major supplier of plastic bottles to Closed Loop London which is one of the leading processors of plastics in the UK – producing recycled plastic flakes to the exacting standards of plastic bottle manufacturers. There are currently no sustainable markets for other plastic packaging such as yoghurt pots and food trays, which is why we don’t collect these items in Hampshire, an approach which is also endorsed by the plastics recycling industry.  

Councillor Dean added: “What we need is for residents to keep up the good work by recycling the right materials, enabling us to continue to supply quality markets. Paper, cardboard, drinks cans, food tins and plastic bottles are all easily recycled through our kerbside collection schemes.”

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