Pledge your support to recycle more glass as part of new campaign

Residents in Leeds are being asked to pledge to recycle their glass at their nearest bottle banks rather than throwing it into their household bins as part of a drive to increase the city’s recycling rates.

The average Leeds household throws away 500 glass bottles and jars each year which contributes to over 15,000 tonnes of glass across the city that costs the council £1.5million a year to dispose of.

As part of the ‘Recycle your glass’ campaign the council will be focusing on two pilot areas of the city in north Morley, Crossgates and Whinmoor. If the approach is successful, then the pilot may be rolled out to other areas across the city. Residents will be issued with clear information and maps about their nearest bottle banks and residents in Crossgates and Whinmoor will be provided with a box or bag to use to collect and transport their glass to a recycling point. Alongside this work a glass wall installation appeared on Briggate last week (Friday 13 October) and will travel across the city in the coming weeks to Crossgates and Morley to raise awareness of the benefits of recycling glass, and the savings that can be achieved by even a small increase in recycling rates.

Councillor Lucinda Yeadon, Leeds City Council executive board member with responsibility for environment and sustainability said:

“With so many bottle banks right across the city, most of our residents are just a few hundred yards away from their nearest bottle bank.

“We will be working closely with communities in north Morley, Crossgates and Whinmoor to run a more targeted campaign to try and dramatically increase glass recycling rates and then, if successful, look to replicate this work across the city.”

Residents can find out where their nearest bottle banks is by accessing the Leeds Bin App, or visiting www.leeds.gov.uk/glass

For more details, please contact:

Jo Lepelley

Communications and Marketing Officer

Leeds City Council

0113 37 89177