Recycle Week 2020
21-27 September 2020 is Recycle Week, an annual awareness campaign by WRAP for reducing waste, saving money, and protecting the environment.
This year, the theme will thank the nation for continuing to recycle despite the challenges that COVID-19 has presented, under the banner ‘Together – We Recycle’.
“We want Recycle Week 2020 to recognise the sacrifices that key workers and citizens have made to keep recycling going and create positive change in the world around us.
Our recycling and waste key workers have heroically carried on collecting while the world slowed down around them”, said WRAP in a statement.
The impact of COVID-19
Statistics released by Recycle Now show that through lockdown, the UK has become even more environmentally aware with nearly 9 in 10 households saying they ‘regularly recycle’.
In a statement, WRAP said “Coming out of lockdown, more people are prepared to change their lifestyles to help the environment: 73%, up from 68% in 2019. And an amazing 93% of UK households say they believe that ‘everyone has a responsibility to help towards cleaning up the environment’.”
To help guide consumers and businesses alike to reduce the use of plastic, The Green Education Foundation (GEF) has put together an easy to follow guide.
- Stop using plastic straws, even in restaurants. If a straw is a must, purchase a reusable stainless steel or glass straw.
- Use a reusable produce bag. A single plastic bag can take 1,000 years to degrade. Purchase or make your own reusable produce bag and be sure to wash them often.
- Don’t use chewing gum – it’s made of synthetic rubber, aka plastic
- Buy boxes instead of bottles. Often, products like clothing detergent come in cardboard which is more easily recycled than plastic.
- Purchase food, like cereal, pasta, and rice from bulk bins and fill a reusable bag or container. You save money and unnecessary packaging.
- Reuse containers for storing leftovers or shopping in bulk.
- Use matches instead of disposable plastic lighters or invest in a refillable metal lighter.
- Don’t use plasticware at home and be sure to request restaurants do not pack them in your take-out box.
- Make fresh-squeezed juice or eat fruit instead of buying juice in plastic bottles. It’s healthier and better for the environment.
- Make your own cleaning products that will be less toxic and eliminate the need
At Machine Compare, we care deeply about the environment which is why we’ll be releasing our revised business values and mission statement later this month to show the CSR goals we will achieve over the next 5 years.
We also have a development project underway that will see a revolutionary e-commerce product launch to enable businesses to eliminate their waste to landfill output, putting recycled products back into industrial supply chains across the globe.
Watch this space.
What you can do
When it comes to disposing of waste, visit Recycle Now to find out everything you need to know about recycling.
You can also play your part by using the hashtag #RecycleWeek on social media and sharing your own efforts to be more eco-friendly.
