Recycle for Greater Manchester joins The Big Recycling Hunt for Recycle Week

This Recycle Week, Recycle Now and Recycle For Greater Manchester (R4GM) are challenging Greater Manchester residents to take part in The Big Recycling Hunt.

"The Big Recycling Hunt", the central theme of this year's campaign, promises to shine a bright spotlight on "missed capture."

This nationwide hunt aims to engage people in the quest to find ‘lost recyclables’ that too often find their way into the general waste bin.

By focusing on commonly missed items such as empty aerosols, plastic cleaning product bottles, plastic toiletry bottles, and food tins, Recycle Now wants to foster a deeper understanding of recycling for Recycle Week, which runs from 16 to 22 October this year. It has created a range of activities, designed to engage children and families and empower the youth to become active participants in building a sustainable future.

Throughout the month of October, R4GM are running the #InTheLoopGM campaign, encouraging residents to recycle items at home and keep them in the loop for as long as possible.

It’s important to keep things in the recycling loop because Earth’s resources are finite and materials to make products, including glass and metal that we can recycle at home, are in danger of running out.

Not only does recycling mean fewer materials need to be mined, but it also takes much less energy to recycle items than to make new ones.

Councillor Tom Ross, GMCA lead for the Green City-Region and waste and recycling, said: “We’re proud that Greater Manchester has a recycling rate of over 50% which is one of the highest performing city regions in England, but there’s always room for improvement.

“If every Greater Manchester household recycled just one more item, over a million more items would be saved from general waste and have the chance to be recycled into something useful.

“Let’s work together to hunt down those often forgotten about items and recycle as much as we can.”

Harriet Lamb, CEO of WRAP, said: “The importance of this initiative extends beyond Recycle Week.

“By empowering children with the knowledge and tools to become recycling advocates, we are not only nurturing the future but also ensuring a healthier and more sustainable world for all.”

Top tips for recycling:

• Recycle more items from the bathroom. Adding a recycling bin in the bathroom makes it easy to collect bathroom plastics like shampoo and cleaning bottles, aerosols, and toilet roll tubes.
• Refresh your recycling knowledge and check out the R4GM recycling guide.
• Schools and community groups can book on a free tour to a Materials Recovery Facility where mixed recycling goes to get sorted. The tour shows the process, the machinery involved, and explains what happens to our recycling.
• Remember Rochdale Council only collects plastic bottles, so put plastic pots, tubs, and trays in the general waste bin. If you live in Whitworth, these plastics can be included in your recycling as bins are collected by Rossendale Borough Council.