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While nearly all of us make an effort to recycle, with Devon frequently recognised as one of the top four recycling counties in the UK, there’s still lots of things we forget about.
Shockingly, 54 per cent of people in Devon put at least one item in the bin that could be recycled.
But while we all know we can recycle paper, plastics and glass, there may be items you didn’t know you could recycle.
So, as part of our Change Plymouth campaign, we’ve made a list of things you didn’t know you could recycle – and where you can recycle them.
1. Razors
Yes, really!
Gillette, the personal care and shaving brand, has launched a new scheme to ensure razors are recycled instead of just thrown away.
The company has teamed up with TerraCycle to eliminate the idea of waste by ‘recycling the non-recyclable’.
Once collected, the waste is broken down and separated by material, with plastics cleaned and recycled into new products like picnic tables and park benches, while metal materials are sent for smelting and conversion to new alloys.
All you have to do is email your address to recycle@feedback.gillette.co.uk and the company will send you a Free Post envelope within 2-3 weeks for you to put your razors in and send by Royal Mail.
The scheme is free and UK residents can apply for up to four free-post envelopes for the scheme per household, with a maximum of 16 products per envelope. That’s a lot of razors Gillette are saving from landfill!
For more information on this initiative click here.
2. Contact Lenses
Boots Opticians has teamed up with ACUVUE® and TerraCycle® in its new contact lens recycling programme.
According to Johnson and Johnson, 61% of people in the UK who wear contact lenses don’t believe they can currently recycle them.
But this new scheme, the first of its kind in the UK, will see consumers given the option of either having their contact lens waste collected, or simply dropping off their contact lenses at specialist recycling bins in Boots Opticians, and other optical stores, across the UK.
The recycling scheme will accept old contact lenses, blister packs and foils waste, says ACUVUE.
In Plymouth, the two specialist contact lens recycling bins are at CEE with the University of Plymouth and Boots Opticians on Plymstock Broadway.
There’s also a drop-off recycling point at Newsome Opticians on Market Street in Yealmpton and at Newsome Opticians in Glanvilles Mill in Ivybridge.
You can read more about the scheme here.
3. Lilos/bouncy castles/paddling pools – even if they’re broken or damaged
British company Wyatt and Jack is upcycling lilos, bouncy castles, paddling pools and other PVC plastics that are usually deemed unrecyclable into unique tote bags and other accessories.
The company, which is based on the Isle of Wight, even accepts broken or damaged lilos, bouncy castles etc.
You can send your items to: Wyatt & Jack Inflatable Amnesty, Unit 7, Weavers Yard, Lane End, Bembridge. IOW PO35 5US
Or, you can take your items to a local drop off point, have a look at the map for the one nearest you.
Mango Surging in Drake Circus, Plymouth is one of the Inflatable Amnesty collection locations.
4. Bras
Do you have any bras that are still in good condition but you don’t want anymore? Perhaps they don’t fit you so you were considering throwing them out.
Why not recycle them?
Smalls for All accept new or ‘gently worn’ good condition bras in any size, including sports and nursing bras, and donates them to people living in orphanages.
The charity says “while people living in Western Society tend to have easy access to underwear and take it for granted, in many more remote or poorer parts of Africa…underwear is a luxury that many people just cannot afford or it isn’t easily available.”
You can send your bras to:
Smalls for All®, Five Sisters Business Park, Westwood, West Calder, Scotland EH55 8PN
If you include a note with your email address, the team will do their best to email you an acknowledgement of receiving the items/a thank you.
5. Printer Ink Cartridges
Several companies will accept your empty/used ink cartridges from home printers.
Tesco will give you up to 125 Clubcard points, or you can choose to donate up to £1.25 to charity, for cartridges via The Recycling Factory company.
All you have to do is download and print a Freepost label for an envelope and post your undamaged cartridges in the post.
For more information, and to check which cartridges will be accepted, click here
If you’d like to use your cartridges to raise money for charity, you can print a charity specific Freepost label from the site and send your cartridges to The Recycling Factory, who will process your cartridges and send your donation directly to the British Heart Foundation.
Click here for more information.
6. Brita Water Filters
Brita, the company behind water filtration systems, water jugs, kettles and tap attachments, have been running a recycling programme for used cartridges since 1992, but many of us forget that you can recycle the filters/cartridges.
There’s loads of supermarkets and stores that have recycling facilities for Brita.
In Plymouth, you have a choice of four city centre locations to recycle your Brita filters.
There are: Sainsbury’s in the Armada Centre, Lawson’s on Cornwall Street, Argos on New George Street City Centre and Argos on Royal Parade.
For more information, visit the website.
7. Pots and pans
Tefal, the cookware company, has launched a new recycling scheme and is urging the public to exchange old pots and pans in Sainsbury’s stores from Wednesday, September 25 to Tuesday, October 15 2019.
To thank customers for recycling their old pots and pans, Sainsbury’s are offering a third off Tefal’s new ‘So Recycled’ range, made from 100% recycled alluminium.
In Plymouth, you can recycle your old pots and pats at Sainsbury’s in the city centre and at Sainsbury’s Marsh Mills.
8. Inhalers
Inhalers should be returned to a pharmacy to be disposed of safely.
Pharmacists are able to dispose of inhalers with other drugs waste, and thermally treat them to destroy greenhouse gases, says recyclenow.
This environmentally safe disposal route is available at all pharmacies and is paid for by NHS England.
Do you have any other suggestions? Let us know in the comments below.
