Recycle Week: 23-29 September

Recycle Week 2019 is taking place from 23-29 September and is a prime opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of recycling. Sustainability is firmly on the national agenda and the public is looking to organisations to improve major environmental issues. As a waste management company, TJ Waste are avid recyclers, always striving to find ways to improve their procedures and expand their recycling activities.

TJ are keen to promote the practice of recycling and are regularly forming partnerships with like-minded companies that are looking to improve their recycling rates or who have means of providing innovative new ways to recycle. TJ’s recycling efforts have led to an excess of 250,000 tonnes of waste diverted from landfill through recycling routes.

Recycle Week is organised by WRAP under the Recycle Now brand and is now in its 17th year. The aim of the week is to encourage the public to recycle more by demonstrating the benefits of recycling items from around the home.
This year’s theme will be: ‘Recycling. It’s in our own hands.’

2019 is the year to fully commit to recycling. When David Attenborough’s latest documentary series Our Planet – which focused on humans’ impact on the environment and how climate change impacts all living creatures – was released on Netflix earlier in the year, this presented a prime opportunity to inspire and support people to take action and make recycling the new norm.

Recycle Week 2019 will be full of action asking people to rinse, crush, squash, sort and separate. In the bathroom, the kitchen, the office and the great outdoors. Getting them to do something powerful and radical that will really make a difference. Last year, WRAP were delighted to have the support of 80 business partners including John Lewis, Quorn, Aldi, Sure, Marmite, Tesco, Danone and H&M – let‘s hope 2019 will experience the same support.

WRAP’s mission is to accelerate the move to a sustainable, resource-efficient economy by re-inventing how we design, produce and sell products, re-thinking how we use and consume products, and re-defining what is possible through re-use and recycling. WRAP works with governments, businesses and communities to deliver practical solutions to improve resource efficiency.

They are world leaders in helping organisations achieve greater resource efficiency. Between 2010 and 2015 in England alone, WRAP initiatives reduced greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 50 million tonnes, which is equivalent to the annual carbon dioxide emissions of Portugal!

TJ processes all materials in line with WRAP protocol. TJ has four materials recycling facilities dotted along the south coast, where all waste is taken to for sorting and onward recycling. These centres are staffed by experienced operators and drivers to ensure a first-class service. They also have three inert recycling facilities in Yapton, Bordon and Ringwood. Inert wastes (concrete, brick rubble, ceramics) are mechanically separated and turned into construction materials, such as 6F5 Crushed Concrete.

In 2018, people were motivated to care about plastics in a way they never have before. TJ is working in partnership with two local companies to help divert plastic ice cream tubs from landfill and direct them into the recycling process. Jude’s Ice Cream are one of TJ’s clients and when TJ established a new recycling process for certain types of plastics, they soon realised that Jude’s unwanted plastic ice cream tubs and offcuts would be ideal for it.

Jude’s confirmed that they were happy for their plastics to be recycled and instructed TJ to organise this for them. When the plastic ice cream tubs are recycled, they are made into a new product – pellets – which will then be moulded into new plastic products. The latest equipment for recycling plastic materials is used in this recycling process to ensure that the highest quality products are maintained.

Find out more about Recycle Week or get in touch with TJ to discuss your business’ waste and recycling needs…