Recycle Week’s annual campaign, organised by WRAP, will be running from Monday 24th September to Sunday 30th September. This year marks the campaign’s 15th year, and is set to be one to remember. Themed ‘Recycling. We do. Because it matters’, the campaign will be focusing on plastics, aiming to highlight the benefits of recycling and encourage people to recycle more. WRAP is calling on all organisations, businesses and individuals to get involved during the week. It’s a perfect opportunity for all our Jump members to get on board and ramp up their office recycling!Take a look at the Recycle Week video and get inspired!
Why should you recycle?Recycling is vital if we want to protect our environment for future generations to enjoy. Landfill is not a sustainable option for our waste disposal – it releases harmful chemicals into the environment, takes up a huge amount of space and wastes valuable resources. Recycling ensures that less waste is sent to landfill, and makes the most of materials that would otherwise be wasted. There are small positive steps we can all take to increase the amount we recycle, and Recycle Week is definitely the week for it!
Why are plastics such a problem?Plastic pollution has been a hot topic in recent months, with thanks to programmes such as BBC’s recent Blue Planet II series which brought our attention to plastic waste in our oceans. Although plastic is a useful material in terms of its durability and diverse applications, it’s inability to break down is leading to huge problems for our natural environment. Did you know that it takes 20 years for a plastic bag to biodegrade, 200 years for plastic straws, and 450 years for plastic bottles? Click here to be shocked with more facts about plastic pollution. Recently we have seen a huge push for people to cut down on their plastic use by reusing items, and recycling wherever possible. Thanks to programmes like Blue Planet II, people are more motivated than ever to do something about their waste.
As part of our Jump staff engagement programmes, we make recycling worth it for our members as well as the environment. Our behavioural change campaigns encourage staff to recycle more, and motivate members to do so through rewarding their efforts with Green Points and prizes for the top earners. During Recycle Week, staff at Bournemouth University can win an extra 100 Green Points for watching the Recycle Week campaign video. Whether it’s encouraging recycling, reducing plastic use, or swapping to reusable coffee cups, we are totally behind the small steps that can lead to a bigger positive impact. We’ll be sharing our top tips and updates throughout Recycle Week, so follow us on our Twitter page. Happy recycling!
