Guaranteeing that your rubbish won’t end up in landfill or an incinerator, eco group Sustainable Wareham is running a trial event for residents to recycle more unusual items like toothbrushes, corks and cables.
Going further than the usual council recycling options, Rethinking Rubbish is taking place from 10.30 am to 11.30 am on Saturday 2nd November 2024 in Wareham, Dorset.
A similar event in Shropshire proved a success
“Won’t end up incinerated!”
People who would like to recycle more than what’s collected by the household bin collection are being urged to come along to the event at the Not Just Sundaes cafe, at Trinity Church in South Street.
Organiser of the event Jane Lewis said:
“Would you like to reduce the amount of waste that goes to landfill? If the answer to this question is yes, then we are here to help!
“As a special pilot we will collect a whole range of items, in collaboration with the charity Win on Waste.
“Please have a look through your waste destined for landfill and check whether any items are on our list of recyclables and we will gladly take them from you. We can guarantee that unlike much soft plastic ‘recycling’, they won’t end up incinerated!”
Items to bring along
- Babybel wrappers
- Cheese wrappers
- Corks – wine, champagne etc
- Dental waste – plastic toothbrushes, electric toothbrush heads, interdental brushes
- Greetings cards
- Keys and padlocks
- Makeup containers – empty
- Marigold type rubber gloves and packaging
- Mobile phones
- Plastic lunch boxes
- Drinks bottles – rigid type, refillable bottles, not the sort that go into the regular recycling
- Printer ink cartridges
- Stamps and coins
- Watches and jewellery – even broken
- Wires, cables and chargers
- Yeo Valley tokens – unredeemed
The charity Win On Waste is supporting the Sustainable Wareham event
Most materials are not profitable to recycle
Many of these items will be recycled through Win on Waste’s connections with the not for profit foundation Terracycle which recycles traditionally non-recyclable materials.
Terracycle aims to eliminate the idea of waste and says that even complex rubbish is technically recyclable, it’s just that most materials are not profitable to recycle.
As a result, waste is sent to landfill or incinerated while virgin materials are extracted from the earth to create new products.
Pill blister packs create a huge amount of single use plastic which is not easily recycled
Blister pack recycling
Jane Lewis added:
“Many residents were disappointed when we had to close our project to collect used tablet blister packs. However, we are pleased to say that at our event, we will also be funding a bag from Terracycle to relieve you of some of them.
“As this is our first event of this type, we are limiting the number of blister packs to a maximum of 20 per person. We’d like them cut up if possible, so we can fit more in the bag. We are also asking for a small donation towards the £39.00 which it costs to buy a bag through Terracycle.
“We feel that the onus should be on the pharmaceutical companies to take responsibility for producing more environmentally friendly packaging, however in the meantime, we want to try and prevent as much of this waste as possible from ending up in landfill.
“With sufficient funding, we could even purchase a larger container and be able to take more blister packs and save them from landfill.”
Sustainable Wareham says if this event is successful it hopes to make it a regular feature on a Saturday at Not Just Sundaes, which will not only support the newly reopened community cafe but also provide the opportunity to do something positive for the environment and have a cup of tea or coffee and cake!
Watch how Terracycle works
Further information
- Rethinking Rubbish – in action! 10.30 am to 11.30 am on Saturday 2nd November 2024 at Not Just Sundaes, Trinity Church, South Street, Wareham, BH20 4LU
- More about Win on Waste
- More about Terracycle
- Dorset Council’s household recycling collection items
