Kirklees residents recycle 150 tonnes of plastic in just five months

The introduction of PTT was the first addition to kerbside recycling collections in Kirklees for over ten years. The council is hoping to build on this positive start and see a significant increase in recycling figures for the district.

Kirklees councillor Naheed Mather, cabinet member for environment, said: “Hitting almost 150 tonnes of new plastic recycled in the first five months since launch is a fantastic achievement – incredibly, it is the same weight as 200 grand pianos!

“This year’s National Recycle Week (October 17 until October 23) is asking us to reflect on what we are doing and what more can be done.

“We know the majority of our residents, like us, want to do so much more recycling. However, a key challenge for us is getting contamination rates down.

“If we could do that, we could be looking at significantly increasing those figures, reducing our impact on the environment, and doing even more in Kirklees to combat climate change.”

Over 30 supermarkets in and around Kirklees now also have special collection points for plastic bags and film, which can be located using the Recycling Locator Tool.

Coun Mather added: “Out of 311,000 tonnes of plastic wrapping that is placed on the nation’s shop and supermarket shelves, only 6 per cent is recycled – we must do better than that.

“The Recycling Locator Tool has over 4,000 supermarkets listed all over the UK, it is a great resource, and we encourage residents to make good use of it.”

For more information, visit www.kirklees.gov.uk/greenbin