It is Recycle Week and residents can recycle more from home than ever before, with new items now accepted in household collections, and free coffee pod recycling caddies available too.
Recycle Week (14-20 September) is the UK’s annual celebration of recycling. It aims to help people recycle more of the right things, more often.
As part of its efforts to help residents recycle more, Ealing Council has added more items to the list of things that can be recycled from home, including:
- toothpaste tubes
- plastic plant pots (excluding black pots, which cannot be identified by recycling sorting equipment because of the black dye in their material)
With around 252million toothpaste tubes sold in the UK every year, a small change could have a big impact. Thanks to work across the recycling industry, these everyday bathroom essentials can now be recycled rather than thrown away.
Food for thought
The council is also reminding residents to make use of their food waste recycling service.
Did you know your food scraps can be turned into electricity and fertiliser? Most households in the borough receive a food waste collection service, and it is being extended to more homes. If you have a caddy, be sure you use it so that your leftovers do not go to waste.
Visit the council’s website to find out what can go in the caddy.
Find out what happens to your recycling and food waste after it is collected on the West London Waste Authority website.
Celebrate recycle week at ReActon
To celebrate Recycle Week, residents are invited to visit ReActon, the borough’s community reuse and recycling hub.
This month, ReActon is open on Mondays from 11am to 2 pm and Fridays from midday to 3pm. During opening times, you can:
- speak to the council’s recycling and waste team members about your doorstep recycling and waste collection service
- collect a Podback caddy, for storing used coffee pods in. Pods can be taken to Greenford Road reuse and recycling centre, or residents can order free bags on their website and drop them off at participating shops
- join Ealing Repair café sessions on Mondays. Take part in Clothes Repair and Natter sessions and learn to make t-shirt yarn
- pick up free books, paint and school uniform
- donate clothes, hangers, books, school uniform and small electrical items
Get involved in Ealing Climate Week
You can also get involved in Ealing Climate Week, which takes place from Saturday 19 to Sunday 27 September. There will be free events across the borough to help you save money, cut waste and make greener choices, including repair cafés, clothes mending sessions and cycling activities.
‘Making it easier to recycle more’
Councillor Dominic Moffitt, the council’s cabinet member for climate action, said: “Recycle Week is a great reminder that small actions can make a big difference.
“Whether it is recycling your toothpaste tubes, using your food waste caddy or giving unwanted items a second life, every item recycled helps cut waste and save valuable resources.
“We are making it easier for residents to recycle more, and I would encourage everyone to take advantage of the services and events available.”
