Wigan's Recycling Rate Soars as the Weather Heats Up

Wigan’s Recycling Rate Soars as the Weather Heats Up

As warmer weather arrived in Wigan, the town’s recycling rate shot up. For the first time on record, the council collected more green waste than general waste last week as more residents got out into the garden, recycled more food and put less waste into their black bins. Throughout May, the town’s overall recycling rate has been more than 50%.

Earlier this year, the council introduced a free kitchen caddy liner for residents to encourage them to recycle more food waste.

The council are delighted that more residents have been using their green bins, because leftover food and garden waste can be turned into compost to feed parks and gardens. They stated that the more people recycle, the more money the council saves and it will help them to freeze council tax.

Image courtesy of WRAP UK

How to recycle more at home

You might think that recycling the odd container and cardboard box doesn’t make much of a difference, but recycling is about a lot more than that, and it’s at home that you can make the most difference.

The best place to start is by having a simple recycling system in place in your home, like a bag or a box which you should keep next to your rubbish bin to encourage people to recycle. Follow these tips to recycle more at home:

• Flatten cardboard boxes when you put them in the recycling so you can fit more recycling in the bin overall
• You can recycle envelopes, phone books, toilet roll tubes and cardboard drinks cartons as well as newspapers.
• Most metallic items are recyclable, even kitchen foil and aerosols as long as they’re empty.
• Keep a carrier bag in the hall for recycling any junk mail
• Drop off any recycling at designated points on your way to work, the supermarket or when you take the kids to school. It works best when you fit it around your lifestyle.

Not sure what to recycle and when?

Check your council’s website for information on what you can and can’t recycle, and what day your recycling is due to be collected.