Recycle bathroom products to power a primary school

New research has revealed that if every household in South Cambridgeshire and Cambridge recycled just one more shampoo bottle, it would save enough energy to power a typical primary school for 97 days.

To drive home this message, children at Monkfield Primary in Cambourne are today playing an interactive recycling beanbag game at the school gates on their way home.

The game is being taken to the school by South Cambridgeshire District Council and Cambridge City Council’s shared waste service, and will also visit Fen Ditton Primary later this week.

This week is Recycle Week, which aims to get us all recycling more, particularly when it comes to bathroom products like used shampoo bottles, deodorant cans and aftershave containers.

In the UK, almost 90% of packaging is recycled in our kitchens, while just over half (52%) of items are recycled in the bathroom.

Further newly-released research from Recycle Now found that nearly half (49%) of the UK population admit to not always recycling their aerosols including deodorant and hairspray from the bedroom or bathroom.

The research also found that over a third (38%) of the UK population say they don’t always recycle glass items in the bedroom such as aftershave and perfume bottles after they are empty.

Residents of Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire already recycle more than half of their household waste, but this Recycle Week, South Cambridgeshire District Council and Cambridge City Council are asking residents to rethink their bathroom routines by highlighting the benefits of also recycling these items, and demonstrating that what goes around comes around!

Aerosols such as deodorants and hair sprays can be recycled again and again without any loss in quality, so you may see them come back in items such as parts of your mobile phones, dishwashers or even as another aerosol can.

Cllr Mark Howell, South Cambridgeshire District Council’s Cabinet Member for Environmental Services, said: “We’ll be out and about encouraging residents to look and feel good this Recycle Week by making sure they know what can be recycled from their bathroom.

“Our recycling beanbag game is a great way to test recycling knowledge for all the family, so we’ll be using that at the school gates at pick-up time to engage with primary school children and their parents.

“Also, we’re motivating South Cambridgeshire to look good and feel good this Recycle Week!

“From the last spritz of perfume to the final squeeze of a shampoo bottle – in Recycle Week add recycling to your bathroom regime, and recycling just a few more items from around the house can make a real difference.

Cllr Rosy Moore, Cambridge City Council’s Executive Councillor for Environmental Services and City Centre, said: “‘Adding recycling to our bathroom regimes, whether we are getting ready to go to work or settling down for a night in is the right thing to do.  

“So, let’s shake up our routines, and let’s recycle more and do more for the environment we all live in, in the process of looking good.

“This Recycle Week is all about understanding ‘what goes around comes around’ as our recycling can be turned into something else again.”

Recycling experts will also be on hand at the Tesco Milton superstore this Saturday, between 11am and 4pm, to dish out advice to shoppers.

Top bathroom recycling tips:

• Place a bag or bin specifically for recycling in your bathroom
• Where possible empty and rinse containers before they go in the recycling bin
• Put caps and lids back on your glass containers before recycling
• Remove plastic lids and caps from air-freshener, deodorant and shaving foam aerosols where easy to do so and place separately in the recycling
• Mirrors and nail varnish bottles are not recyclable and should be put in your general waste

For more information about recycling locally, including details of what can and can’t be recycled from around the house, visit www.scambs.gov.uk/recycling or https://www.cambridge.gov.uk/bins-rubbish-and-recycling