Students are being urged by Cheltenham Borough Council to improve on their recycling skills during lock down.
The Council announced, “Thanks to everyone taking the time to sort their recycling in their boxes and bags, Cheltenham’s recycling rates have increased from 51.23% at the end of 2019/20 to 53.98% at the end of September 2020. This is a fantastic result. Together we can continue and improve even further.” So what are students doing wrong?
Cheltenham Borough Council has had its fair share of recycling controversies, one being the ‘big blue bag’. Made to hold cardboard, it was seen as a better way to transport the material. But this has caused major problems for some people as they won’t be collected unless they are fully closed.
Some people are seeing this behaviour as ‘unreasonable’ and ‘hypocritical’ according to Amy Mire, a University student, who lives in St Paul’s, Cheltenham, ‘What are we supposed to do if we have a lot of cardboard? They expect us to keep it until next week’ One twitter user said the ‘council is failing’ because of the ‘blue bag debacle’.
The council have also started using garish, pink stickers, which are used as a naughty badge on your recycling bin, if you have not sorted your recycling correctly or have over filled. Posters and leaflets have also made an appearance, being posted through letterboxes in St Pauls, described by student, Bella Alderson as ‘passive aggressive’. Many students living in private housing believe it is up to their landlords to educate them on the recycling rules of Cheltenham, Bella also said, ‘It’s like we have been thrown in the deep end, a heads up or rules would have been nice’.
The University of Gloucestershire does have a ‘A-Z Guide to Waste and Recycling’, which is free to download- https://www.glos.ac.uk/docs/download/Sustainability/A-Z-Guide-to-Waste-and-Recycling.pdf.
So how can students do better? Put your boxes out the night before. From experience, no one wants to get up at 7am to put the bins out, so do it the day before.
Also pizza boxes cannot be recycled, so don’t try, it will just be left on the curb and will remind you of your binge 2 days ago. Similarly, any containers or rubbish with food waste in, will not be taken. Rinse out jars, tins and bottles before putting them in the green box.
PPE is a no go I’m afraid, so its time to invest in reusable masks. So far Cheltenham Borough Council has not announced any information on how to dispose of gloves and face masks, only that it should be done safely.
