New programme for schools to recycle lunch boxes and water bottles

A free recycling programme for food storage containers and reusable plastic water bottles has launched for schools, allowing them to recycle these hard-to-recycle items.
 
Schools can sign-up to the programme as a public drop-off location where they will be awarded points for each item they send in to be recycled. These points are redeemable as monetary donations which can be used to fund any good cause, including school projects and charities.
 
Local communities can make use of public drop-off locations to help schools collect more and raise more funds. Signing up also gives schools another way to work towards their Eco Schools Green Flag award.
 
The recycling programme has been set up by TerraCycle in collaboration with Sistema - manufacturer of food storage containers and reusable bottles. It has been designed to give food storage containers including well-used plastic lunch boxes and reusable plastic water bottles a second life after use.
 
These items are considered “hard-to-recycle” due to the high quality food grade BPA free materials they are made of. Whilst some councils collect and recycle some food storage containers, there are a number that don’t collect or recycle any. This means they are often destined for landfill or incineration.
 
TerraCycle recycles these items by shredding, washing and sorting the materials by type. The material is then dried, compounded and pelletized into hard-granulated plastic granules. These granules can then be incorporated into the production of different plastic products.
 
Schools can sign-up on the programme page on TerraCycle’s website to start collecting.
 
Julien Tremblin, General Manager for TerraCycle Europe said: “This is a first-of-its-kind recycling programme for the UK so we’d urge schools to get involved and start collecting as much as possible from their community.
 

“It couldn’t be easier to become a public drop-off location, and it’s a great way to inspire pupils and parents alike to rethink what they go to throw away.”