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Recycling facts
Jump to: 'There are 3Rs in Surrey' Campaign


In Spelthorne, last year (2006/2007), 34,031 tonnes of household rubbish was collected.  5,801 tonnes of this was recycled and 821 tonnes was composted.  This means Spelthorne's overall recycling rate is 19.45%.

Interesting fact about recycling paper In Spelthorne, last year, residents recycled:
3,574 tonnes of paper
Fact - 1 tonne of recycled papers uses:
  • 64% less energy 50% less water
  • 74% less air pollution
  • saves 17 trees
  • creates 5x more jobs than 1 tonne of paper products from virgin wood pulp
Interesting fact about glass 1,702 tonnes of glass
Fact - Glass is 100% recyclable! On average every UK family consumes around 500 glass bottles and jars each year.
Interesting fact about recycling cans 340 tonnes of mixed cans
Fact - Making cans from recycled aluminium cuts related air pollution by 95%, (for example, sulphur dioxides, which create acid rain).

Interesting fact about recycling textiles 211 tonnes of textiles  (23% of which was reused)
Fact - Textile recycling provides raw materials for upholstery, for filling mattresses, for wadding and other absorbent products, and for the manufacture of felt, as well as fibre from which new cloth can be made.

Interesting fact about recycling shoes 10 tonnes of shoes
Fact - In America Nike runs a "Reuse-a-Shoe Program". They mix ground-discarded tyres and shredded worn out running shoes to make athletic playing surfaces such as playgrounds, basketball courts, and running tracks.

Interesting fact about recycling books 13 tonnes of books
Fact - Oxfam shops sell in the region of six million books per year, making it the largest second hand bookseller in the UK. You make this possible by donating your books via the Oxfam Book Banks.

Interesting fact about garden waste (composting) 821 tonnes of garden waste
Fact - An average person throws away 74 kilos of organic waste, that's the equivalent of 1,077 banana skins.

General facts

  • every 90 minutes in the UK we produce enough rubbish to fill your local Staines swimming pool
  • at least 50% of the contents of your dustbin could potentially be recycled
  • last year 384.6kgs of household waste was collected per head, which is a reductionof 4.8% on last year
  • last year household rubbish collection cost £42.14 per head

3Rs in Surrey

The Surrey Local Government Association recently published a report to mark the start of its campaign to tackle waste in the county.  The report - Waste not want not: attitudes to waste in Surrey - is the biggest independent research project ever commissioned into surrey residents' attitudes to reusing and reducing waste.

The research found that nearly six in ten (59%) Spelthorne residents readilly admit that they could do more to reduce their waste.

However, with nearly nine in ten (86%) willing to decrease the amount of waste that they produce, 86% prepared to increase the amount they reuse and almost nine in ten happy to increase the amount of recycling they undertake, the report clearly indicates that spelthorne residents are looking to make a difference.

Download a copy of the report (.pdf 1Mb)
Go to Surrey waste info (external website)

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