THE Forest of Dean is one of the better council areas in England for recycling, but residents are being encouraged to help boost rates further across the district this week by ‘hunting out’ hidden recyclables.

This week (October 16-22) is national Recycle Week, and an initiative dubbed the ‘Big Recycling Hunt’ calls on the public to take action to prevent items ending up in UK rubbish bins when they could have been recycled.

Councillor Andy Moore (Newnham, Green), portfolio holder for waste and recycling at Forest of Dean District Council, said: “This year’s Recycle Week is all about maximising the amount we recycle by seeking out those items that sometimes get overlooked. While most of us regularly recycle items like tins, cans and glass jars, less familiar items such as empty aerosols and aluminium foil can be forgotten. 

“Thanks to the brilliant efforts of our residents, the Forest of Dean district is in the top 12 per cent of local councils in terms of recycling and waste performance but to help boost recycling rates further and capture even more materials we’re asking for the public’s help to look for more opportunities to recycle, whether that’s by searching different rooms around the home, through checking school lunch boxes at the end of the day or sorting through bathroom bins. With on-street recycling bins for drinks cans and plastic bottles in each of the four Forest towns, there’s even the opportunity to recycle while out and about.

“If everyone in the district found one extra item each week for recycling that would result in a staggering 4.5 million items extra being saved from going to waste, helping to ensure more materials go back into the system and made into new products and packaging, lessening the impact on our planet and reducing emissions that damage our climate.”

The council ranks 39th for local authorities in England for recycling rates in 2021/22, with 54.3 per cent of household waste being sent for reuse, recycling or composting.

Research by Waste and Resources Action Programme, the organisation behind Recycle Week, suggests that as well as foil and aerosols, some of the most common items that go unrecycled nationally include plastic detergent/cleaning bottles and plastic toiletry/shampoo bottles, with glass perfume and aftershave bottles topping the list.

The council points out that all of these can be recycled as part of the kerbside service offered to residents but asks that triggers are removed before recycling spray bottles.

Residents can find a quick guide to what can be recycled at the kerbside on the back of their annual waste collection calendar with more detailed information available on the Forest of Dean District Council’s webpages, at www.fdean.gov.uk/bins-and-recycling/what-to-put-in-your-bin/

The Gloucestershire Waste Wizard online tool can help householders find the right way to recycle their unwanted items, including those items not currently accepted at the kerbside, as well as their nearest recycling drop off points.

You can find the Waste Wizard at www.fdean.gov.uk/wastewizard.