This year, annual Recycle Week is taking place in the last week of September (19-25), 2021 having been the most successful run in its 18-year history to date. The purpose of this UK and NI-wide event is to build awareness and encourage increased participation in recycling.

In conjunction with Derry City and Strabane District Council (DCSDC), organisers WRAP (under the Recycle Now brand) are launching the ‘Get Real’ campaign for Recycle Week 2022. A range of in-person and social media events and activities throughout the week will focus on responding to three key questions the public frequently raises:

· Does my recycling really make a difference?

· One wrong item into the bin can’t hurt, can it?

· Recycling is so confusing, isn’t it?

Recycle Now’s goal is to clarify questions and reassure the public that individual recycling really does make a positive difference.

They explain that one wrong item in the recycling bin from several consumers can make lorry loads unrecyclable? They have urged the use of resources such as the Recycling Locator to identify items which can be recycled in the council area.

Mayor of DCSDC, Cllr Sandra Duffy, praised residents for recycling efforts to date and gave tips to increase recycling in the council area.

She said “Shampoo and conditioner bottles can be put in the blue bin, along with all those hand wash bottles

and aerosol cans we use every day. If we remember to recycle these every day items and keep them

out of our black bins, we’ll really make a difference to the overall recycling rate in our region.”

Craig Stephens, Campaign Manager for Recycle Now, shared the Mayor’s enthusiasm;

“Come on, Derry and Strabane, keep up the great work and let’s make our recycling better than ever before!”

Members of the public are invited to look out for council offices lit up in green and to share relevant images on social media using ≠RecycleWeek.

Moreover, a dedicated recycling App., launched earlier this year by DCSDC and hosting information on a range of topics, reminders and opening times for Council Recycling Centres is also available. With the plethora of quality recycling resources at your fingertips, why not jump aboard the Get Real campaign in Recycle Week, 19-25 September 19-15? More information on Recycle Week is available on www.recyclenow.org.uk/RecycleWeek