‘Step it Up’ this Recycling Week

Today marks the first day of Recycle Week, the annual event to raise awareness about the need to recycle. This year WRAP, the organisers of Recycle Week, ask us to ‘Step it Up’ as we face the climate crisis. It’s true, the climate crisis can’t be fixed by just recycling, it will take a huge team effort from governments, businesses, charities, and people around the world. But evidence from the Bureau of International Recycling has shown that recycling can save over 700 million tonnes in CO2 emissions every year. Even actions that seem small, contribute to the big picture, so by making recycling a habit we can play a big part too.

That’s why at Bin It!, it’s our mission to help schools across the country learn more about the environmental impact of littering and the importance of correct litter disposal of rubbish, especially chewing gum. By making sure students understand the importance of properly disposing of rubbish, they gain a greater social responsibility and become more caring about their environment, just as Recycle Week helps everyone be more socially responsible and do their part for preventing climate change.

Here are a few tips on how you can recycle this week:

1 Make sure to reuse shopping bags: even though plastic bags are technically recyclable; they often aren’t collected for recycling by your local council because they get tangled in the machines and break them. So, make sure to grab a bag for life instead at your next shop.

2 Give your tins, bottles, and jars a good wash: leftover food can contaminant a whole load of recycling material so it can’t be reused.

3 Buy refills: if you jumped on the wave of home organising during lockdown you will love this one! You can get pretty containers for soaps, shampoo, anything you want to refill and have it all match…and save the environment!

4 Finally, have a recycling bin nearby: it may sound obvious but just having a bin nearby means you are much more likely to recycle.

It can be so easy to recycle, and there are loads of tips out there, the important thing is to get involved!

If you want to engage your students in responsible litter disposal and get involved in Recycle Week, why not take a look at some of Bin It! lesson plans about littering? For example, you could create your own anti-littering campaign lesson where students can be as creative as they like. They could make a poster or jingle to promote the anti-littering message or do a survey of school recycling to see how the school could improve recycling. The lesson plan has lots of suggestions for ways to engage the students and help them understand why people litter as well as reflect on their own social responsibility.

If you haven’t already, sign up to the Bin It Roadshow! The Roadshow is an entertaining and engaging way for students to confront the effect of littering on society and the environment. We couldn’t be more excited to be back after being postponed during the pandemic and we hope to see you there!