BDR Waste Partnership

South Yorkshire was proud to ‘Step it up’ this 2021 Recycle Week in the biggest and best Recycle Week ever.

Residents were asked to take action to protect our environment through even better recycling habits.

Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield Councils joined forces with national recycling campaign Recycle Now to promote the message locally.

And this year, Recycle Now had a celebrity ambassador on board with the national campaign – TV presenter, Invictus Games Medallist and Strictly Come Dancing star JJ Chalmers.

A keen environmentalist, he said he was proud to be working with the Recycle Now team on what has become an important week of action across the UK. He said: “I really want to encourage people to look at what they are doing and how they can ‘Step it Up’ and do even more…even better.”

Getting recycling right

Latest research from Recycle Now reveals that almost nine out of 10 people now recycle.  However, 55 per cent of households put items in the general rubbish bin that can be recycled, including plastic shampoo and conditioner bottles and cleaning and bleach bottles. Check your local council website for more information about what can be recycled in your area.

Every year, Recycle Now unites retailers, brands, waste management companies, trade associations, national and local governments and the media to focus on how recycling can play a part in limiting the pressure we put on the planet through our use of natural resources.

Campaign Manager for Recycle Now, Craig Stephens, said: “This year we’re focussed on how recycling can help fight climate change and how by recycling even better we can have a bigger impact on our environment.”

Chair of the Joint Waste Board in South Yorkshire, Cllr Mark Houlbrook, said the link between recycling and helping the planet was clear.

“Recycling currently saves 18 million tonnes of CO2 every year, which is the same as taking 12 million cars off the road, and we’d like to thank our residents for doing their bit.  But if we can recycle more and better, it will have an even bigger impact on the environment,” he said.

For the second year running, major brands put their support/backing behind the Week by donating to help fund it including Amazon, British Soft Drinks Association, Coca-Cola, the Co-op, McDonald’s and Waitrose.

To find out more about Recycle Week, and to find out what you can and can’t recycle where you live, visit www.recyclenow.org.uk/RecycleWeek.

Keep an eye on our latest news for details of the 2022 Recycle Week to be held next September, and how you can get involved.