Category: Recycling

The terms ‘recycling’ and ‘upcycling’ are sometimes used interchangeably but the two processes are actually unrelated and very different from each other.

In this article, we’ll take a look at both and then highlight the differences between the two, while also explaining why each is important from an environmental perspective.

Let’s start with a look at recycling.

Continue reading What is the difference between recycling and upcycling?

The festive season is upon us and despite all of our best efforts, it is often a time of utter chaos in households across the country.

With spirits high, it can be easy to forget about the importance of disposing of waste correctly — but with so much additional waste about at Christmas, recycling is as important as ever.

So, read through our tips below and get ready for an eco-friendlier Christmas.

Continue reading Top recycling tips for Christmas

If you’re reading this blog post, you must be as intrigued as we were when we found out about this innovative recycling scheme in Rome.

We have recently been working on boosting recycling rates in Leeds city centre alongside Hubbub and many other organisations as part of a scheme called Leeds By Example.

This has been such a success that it is now being rolled out in other areas of the country.

An important aspect of Leeds By Example was the variety of bins installed around the city. They were varied to see which became the most popular and therefore encouraged the most recycling.

It transpired that people were most drawn to those that offered rewards, such as money-off coupons. In Italy, they are working on a similar tactic.

Continue reading How recycling in Rome leads to free travel

In Leeds, the local council provides an excellent household recycling service and accepted items include paper, cardboard, cans, tins, and plastics 1, 2, 4 and 5.

However, several items in particular confuse a lot of householders. Can they be recycled or not?

We all live busy lives, and this can mean we don’t always check the numbers on plastic against the list provided by the local authority.

Some people may not stop to think about what to do with an item if it can’t be recycled kerbside, either.

This results in items ending up in the recycling bin when they shouldn’t, and items being sent to landfill when they could have been recycled.

Below are three things that can’t be recycled kerbside in Leeds.

Continue reading Three things that aren’t recycled kerbside in Leeds

We are all very familiar with glass — it is a common material that is used to make a plethora of items inside and outside of our homes.

In fact, most of us probably take it for granted!

Have you ever stopped and wondered how glass is made and how it is recycled? This blog post takes a look at all things glass.

Continue reading What is glass?

We may live in a digital age, but the Royal Mail is still busy delivering letters and parcels across the country.

Whether we like it or not (and it tends to be a ‘not’ if it’s a brown envelope), we all receive post in one form or another.

Many of us receive junk mail through our letterboxes, alongside official letters about tax, voting, bills, and more.

Some of us are lucky enough to receive handwritten notes from family, friends, and pen-pals, too.

This mail builds up to a significant amount of waste, so we’ll explain how best to dispose of it in this blog post.

Continue reading How to recycle your mail

Most of us know that aluminium is used to make drink cans, food tins, and aerosol sprays. Many of us also know that it can be recycled. However, what the majority of us don’t know is what aluminium is and where it originates.

Read on to discover all the fascinating facts and figures related to aluminium — you’ll never look at a can of pop in quite the same way again!

Continue reading What is aluminium?

In just six months of the Leeds By Example campaign, Forge Recycling has collected 600,000 coffee cups from drop-off points around the city centre. That is 600,000 cups that have been diverted from landfill.

These cups have all been lightly sorted, compacted, and delivered to the James Cropper recycling facility in Burneside, Kendal. There, they are stripped down, with the paper being removed and then used to make new products.

Alongside the coffee cup success, 65,000 cans and 55,000 plastic bottles were collected by us during the six-month period in Leeds.

Continue reading 600,000 Leeds coffee cups recycled in six months

Closed loop recycling may be a term you have heard before, or perhaps not, but we thought it might be helpful to delve into the topic on our blog and discuss what closed loop recycling is and why it is important.

In a nutshell, closed loop recycling is the process by which a product is used, recycled, and then made into a new product — therefore not ever entering landfill.

This means that these waste types are better for the environment than those that are recycled but have to be mixed with virgin materials to make new products (this is open loop recycling), and, of course, those that can’t be recycled at all.

Continue reading What is closed loop recycling?