Llangollen Friends of the Earth teamed up with Ysgol Dinas Bran today to urge the Government to boost recycling in order to halve the rubbish which people have to put into their black bin bags.
Pupils at Ysgol Dinas Bran in Llangollen took part by each taking home a bag to fill with unwanted textiles, children’s books and leather goods. Amanda Edwards, teacher and vice-chair of Dinas Bran Eco-Council said “Many of items which the children have collected, such as shoes, are not in good enough condition to take into the charity shops. As Denbighshire Council does not currently offer textile recycling in its door-to-door collections, most of what we’ve collected would have just been thrown away”.
The school is also paid per tonne of recycled goods they collect, meaning that as well as stopping items being unnecessarily thrown away, this project also has the added bonus of generating an income for the school. Amanda Edwards went on to say “The collection is still ongoing, and we would welcome any members of the public who would like to drop off unwanted textiles, leather goods or children’s books into our main reception”.
Kay Polley from Llangollen Friends of the Earth said “This is a great example of how people want to do more recycling, but often don’t have the opportunity to do so. This is why we are urging Government to do more so that we can halve ‘black bag’ waste my 2020”.
Local politicians have also been showing their support for the campaign. Susan Elan Jones, MP for Clwyd South said “Recycling is so important, and this project is fantastic as there is an added incentive for the school. We can all definitely do more, but currently there are disparities between different councils, meaning some people are able to recycle more than others”.
Eleanor Burnham, AM for North Wales also noted this fact when she said “I appreciate that it can be difficult for some people where door-to-door collections do not take as much recycling as in other areas”. The AM also went on to say that as she is lucky enough to live close to recycling facilities, she has recently been making use of these amenities in order to reduce her own household rubbish. She added “It’s up to all of us to do our best”.