Robert Lloyd - a Sir Gar Blog of random news . . . and some Clecs!

Recycling officers have been spreading the recycling message to shoppers in Carmarthen. They were in the town centre during Recycle Week to encourage residents to recycle at least one more thing from around the home. As well as offering help and advice, they also had a stock of replacement food bins and blue bags for householders that needed them. Community recycling advisor Geinor Lewis said: “It was great to talk to so many people that were interested in hearing about what less common items could be recycled in their blue bags; for example, empty aerosol cans, toilet roll tubes, and shampoo/shower gel bottles. “Recycling isn’t restricted to just the kitchen; it’s just as easy to recycle items from the bathroom, living room and even the bedroom.” Figures show that approximately 60% of rubbish in Carmarthenshire is being recycled, but with a target of 70% to reach by 2024/25, there is still a long way to go. Executive Board Member for Technical Services Cllr Hazel Evans said: “We wan...

Residents in Llanelli have taken up the challenge to recycle at least one more item from around the home. Recycling officers were in the St Elli Shopping Centre during Recycle Week to encourage people to recycle all around the home, not just in the kitchen. They also had a stock of replacement food bins and blue bags for householders that needed them. Waste minimisation and recycling officer Karen Fulham said: “It’s just as easy to recycle items from the bathroom, living room and even the bedroom from empty aerosol cans, plastic coat hangers and toilet roll tubes to bottle tops, receipts and envelopes. “It was great to talk to so many people; hopefully if we all recycle just a little bit more, we can make a big difference.” Figures show that approximately 60% of rubbish in Carmarthenshire is being recycled, but the Welsh Government has set a target of 70% to achieve by 2024/25; or risk large financial penalties. Executive Board Member for Technical Services Cllr Hazel Evans said: “I ...

Pupils in Ysgol Gyfun Emlyn have been learning about recycling batteries and small electrical items during Recycle Week. Although most people know about recycling their old newspapers and tin cans – they don’t realise batteries and old, broken electricals such as kettles and hairdryers can be recycled too. The council’s waste awareness team went along to Ysgol Gyfun Emlyn in Newcastle Emlyn during Recycle Week to talk to the pupils. Officers gave a short presentation on the importance of battery recycling and also showed a DVD on waste electrical items. An interactive workshop was also held with pupils from years 8 and 9 looking at the life of a mobile phone - from making the phone, through to purchasing, then recycling it, and what to do with the packaging of a new phone. Council sustainability officer Tina Brice said: “The feedback we had from both teachers and children is that it has made them think twice about putting batteries and broken electrical items in black bags. They ...

  Recycle Week is taking place from June 18-24 and Carmarthenshire County Council is encouraging people to recycle their old batteries. In the UK, less than five per cent of all household batteries are recycled. Many old batteries end up in landfill, where they can leak harmful chemicals into the soil. You can help tackle this problem by recycling your batteries. Many of the items you regularly use at home will be run on batteries that can be recycled including mobile phones, watches, electric toothbrushes, cameras and cordless power tools. Executive Board Member for Street Scene Cllr Colin Evans said: “Each year we throw away about 620 million batteries and if laid end to end they would reach from the UK to Australia and back again. “The chemicals in batteries are extremely damaging to the environment, so it’s vital we recycle them instead of sending them to landfill. We want to raise awareness that batteries can be recycled and there’s no better time than during Recycle Week.” ...

Reycle Week is taking place from June 20–26 and this year’s theme is ‘Food for Thought’. The aim is to show how separate food waste collections can help people reduce the amount of food they throw away – not only is it better for the environment but it can save you money too. Around 75,000 households across Carmarthenshire now benefit from separate food waste collections. The council’s executive board member for the environment Councillor Philip Hughes said: “Many of us don’t realise just how much food – and money – we waste, but now that most homes in Wales have a separate food waste collection there’s no reason for throwing any food waste away. “Using your green bin prevents this food waste going to landfill, where it would decompose to produce greenhouse gases. Instead it is taken to a central processing plant to be turned into compost and then sold back to householders to use in their own gardens.” Merlin’s Magic Compost is available from CWM Environmental and can be purchased at T...

Council staff in Carmarthenshire were encouraged to bring and not bin their old electrical items to be recycled during Recycle Week. Many of us are already recycling everyday items such as newspapers, cans and plastic bottles but old and unused electrical items can also be recycled from broken toasters and kettles gathering dust in the loft, to old mobile phones in drawers and disused power tools cluttering up the garage. To raise awareness of this the council’s waste team put pink skips in council offices during Recycle Week and asked to staff to bring in any small electrical items that were either broken or not being used anymore. Research shows that just under 30 per cent of us simply throw broken or unwanted items away in the rubbish, whereas if we switched to recycling these items we could divert over 100,000 tonnes of valuable waste electricals from UK landfills each year - the equivalent weight of 14,000 double decker buses! Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) is on...