Plastic bottles, newspapers and glass are frequently recycled by households across Sheffield.
But many people have never considered just what else from their home can be recycled. That’s why Veolia and Sheffield City Council are encouraging residents to get “recycling around the home” during National Recycle Week, which runs from Monday 22 to Sunday 28 June.
Many people regularly recycle items like plastic milk bottles and glass bottles from the kitchen, but it’s also easy to recycle many other items from the bathroom, living room and even the bedroom.
From the bathroom, moisturiser, shampoo, and hair gel bottles can all be recycled, along with any bleach or bathroom cleaner bottles. People just need to remove any lids, pumps or trigger spray tops as these are currently not accepted for recycling, and rinse out before putting all their plastic bottles in their blue bin.
Paper and cardboard can be generated from all over the home too, including ready-meal sleeves from the kitchen, the cardboard tube in the toilet roll and the toothpaste box from the bathroom. If everyone in the UK recycled one toothpaste box, it would save enough energy to run a fridge in more than 2,000 homes for a year.
Councillor Terry Fox, Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport at Sheffield City Council, said: “During Recycle Week I want to thank everyone for their recycling efforts. What’s currently recycled in Sheffield makes a huge difference, so just imagine what else could be achieved by recycling those items that are sometimes forgotten.
“I hope that this will encourage residents to think twice about things like empty washing-up bottles, ketchup bottles and tissue boxes before they put them in their black bin, and put them in their blue bin or blue box instead.”
Earlier this year, Veolia and the council ran a similar successful awareness campaign, where residents were reminded that they can recycle lots of things from all around the home. Positive changes have already been seen in blue bins and boxes being collected from around the city.
To enter our competition and for hints and tips, visit our recycling around the home webpage or follow us on Twitter @Recycle4Shef.
Recycle Week gallery (with thanks to Kier for supplying the crowd-stopping bath):
