Residents asked to become superheroes and rescue recyclable items from bins this Recycle Week

West Oxfordshire’s recycling rates are among the best in the country and the Council currently sits at position 20 of 343 local authorities in the recycling league table for England, with residents sending most of their waste for reusing, recycling or composting. But recent analysis of waste bins in West Oxfordshire showed that 43% of their contents could have been recycled at the kerbside.  

Giles Hughes, Chief Executive of West Oxfordshire District Council, said: “The analysis we recently carried out showed that recyclable items are still making up a considerable amount of the waste that goes into our rubbish bins. By weight, paper accounts for 9% of the average bin’s contents, card 4%, textiles 4% and metal 2.5%.   

"However, the material most unnecessarily condemned to the rubbish bin is food waste, accounting for a massive 25% of the contents of the district's bins by weight. Just 11% of this is what we class as 'unavoidable' waste, such as peelings and eggshells, while the rest is wasted food, half of which is still in its original packaging. If this food was placed into caddies and left at the kerbside, it would be taken to the Severn Trent anaerobic digestion facility and used to generate electricity and produce bio-fertiliser to help grow more food.  

“We all lead busy lives, and it can be hard to predict how much food we will need each week, but it’s important we all try not to waste food. It’s estimated that around 6-8% of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced if we stopped throwing away food. 

“The data is showing that although we are doing really well with our recycling in the district, we need to be recycling even more of the right things. This Recycle Week and beyond we encourage residents to rescue at least one more recyclable item from their bins, particularly food.” 

Using recycled materials to make new products can use up to 95% less energy than making them from scratch and saves the damage caused to communities and land in the sourcing of new raw materials. While a comparatively small amount of metal goes into the district’s bins, steel cans and aluminium foil are endlessly recyclable with no loss of quality, which makes them an exceptionally valuable resource. 

Now in its 21st year, Recycle Week is the UK’s biggest celebration of recycling and shines a light on the nation’s recycling habits. 

To mark the week, Oxfordshire County Council is running a design activity and prize draw for residents. To take part, entrants need to design a recycling superhero character to rescue recyclable items from the rubbish bin. Fifty entrants will be selected at random to receive an ‘Oxfordshire Reuses’ aluminium water bottle and other waste reducing goodies. Entry forms can be picked up from any Oxfordshire Library or further details can be found at: https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/residents/environment-and-planning/waste-and-recycling/oxfordshire-recycles/recycle-week-2024  

Householders who are unsure what they can put into their blue-lidded recycling bin can visit the Council’s webpages to find out more: https://www.westoxon.gov.uk/bins-and-recycling/what-to-put-in-your-bin/  

For anything that can’t be recycled at the kerbside, the Oxfordshire Waste Wizard online tool signposts residents to the most sustainable way to reduce, reuse or recycle their unwanted items. Find the Waste Wizard: https://www.westoxon.gov.uk/wastewizard