Churches unite to help fundraise for our recycling hub

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PRESS RELEASE

SUSSEX GREEN LIVING THANK HORSHAM DISTRICT COMMUNITY AND LOCAL CHURCHES FOR THEIR RECYCLING EFFORTS AND ANNOUNCE OPENING OF NEW RECYCLING HUB

Joy Carter, “lead Womble” at Sussex Green Living has continued to co-ordinate the sorting and dispatch of “hard-to-recycle” types of waste accepted by TerraCycle during the COVID-19 lockdown and subsequent period and would like to encourage local residents to keep on recycling.

Given the current situation with COVID-19 and the government’s restrictions to reduce the spread of the virus, our day-to-day lives have changed, and our priorities have shifted but it is not all bad news! Green issues remain a key topic, and Sussex Green Living, along with TerraCycle would like to remind everybody that recycling is as important now as ever before! By disposing of waste correctly or storing it to send to TerraCycle when things get back to normal, we can collect now and have an impact forever.

With this in mind, Joy Carter and the rest of the team at Sussex Green Living have been working hard this summer to raise money to build a facility at the Unitarian Church to expand their recycling capacity. Many thanks to donations from Trafalgar Road Baptist Church, Horsham, St. Mark’s Church, Holbrook, Horsham Quakers, Horsham Unitarians and other donors, £2,000 was raised for the new recycling hub. Thanks also go to Berkeley construction team who have been incredibly helpful with use of their skips to remove the old wooden shed.

In 2012 Sussex Green Living set up a public access drop-off location in Horsham Quaker Meeting House in Worthing Road, RH12 1SL and the William Penn School in Coolham. Over the last couple of years eleven other parish locations have set up drop off locations for their villages and Sussex Green Living, enabling the community of Horsham District to collect otherwise unrecyclable waste such as baby food pouches, home care products, used toothbrushes and toothpaste tubes, crisp packets, beverage ring carriers, used pens, pet food pouches, biscuit and snack wrappers and personal care and beauty products which cannot be recycled by the local council, and would otherwise end up in landfill or incineration. TerraCycle also awards a charitable donation for each parcel of waste sent in for recycling.

Councils cannot accept these waste materials as they are complex and costly to recycle, meaning the end value of the recycled material is worth less than the cost of the recycling process. To make the economics of recycling this waste work, TerraCycle partners with large brands such as McVitie’s, BIC and Garnier who cover the costs of processing these materials. This typically involves shredding the waste, washing it and then turning it into flakes or pellets which can then be molded into a huge range of products, often outdoor furniture or various objects for use in construction.

Joy Carter, “Chief Womble” at Sussex Green Living commented: “We are so grateful for all the support we’ve received for the residents for continuing to recycle for us and to the churches, faith groups and individual donors who have funded our new recycling hub.

We couldn’t have done it without you and your efforts have meant that more than 400,000 pieces of waste have been diverted from landfill and incineration, and you have helped raise almost £4,000 for various local causes including Sussex Green Living, William Penn School and Air Ambulance Kent, Surrey, Sussex. We are always looking for more support both people to collect these TerraCycle hard to recycle material and also people to help us sort, package and dispatch off. Find your nearest drop-off location on our website https://www.sussexgreenliving.org.uk/recycling-zone/single-use/ and tell their friends and family to do the same. Or contact us to volunteer”.

Pictured (left to right): Some of the Sussex Green Living wombles who meet every Wednesday afternoon – Rob Fryatt, Alice Owen, Tim Carver, Nigel Phillips and Nigel Pearson at the Quaker Meeting House, Worthing Road, Horsham. Sorting and packaging the donated waste resources prior to dispatch to TerraCycle.

Wednesday 30th September saw the official opening of the new Sussex Green Living recycling hub at the Unitarian Church. The result of months of fundraising, the new recycling hub has been made possible thanks to the efforts of the local community who have come together to help Sussex Green Living recycle as much waste as possible. The organisation was also the winner of £80 through a competition run by TerraCycle to find the best tips for recycling during the lockdown.

The new recycling hub is important not only as it will help Sussex Green Living expand their single-use plastic recycling capacities, but it is also a great demonstration of how the local community and different faith groups have come together during a difficult time, to help fundraise the costs of building and installing the new hub.

For more information about the Unitarian Church recycling hub, or to get involved and help Sussex Green Living in their recycling efforts, head to https://www.sussexgreenliving.org.uk/

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Notes to Editors

About Sussex Green Living

Sussex Green Living (SGL) is a social community environmental awareness initiative. Our mission is to make the world a better place and to educate and inspire people to take action to reduce their impact on the Planet. We want to share practical ideas to help people to reduce the effects of climate change, to reduce their carbon footprint and to live in greater harmony with the planet now and for future generations.

Supported by about 120 volunteers (ad hoc) and hundreds of supporters we offer and promote these sustainable solutions:

  • Campaigning Central and Local Government for Greener Living
  • Founded Climate Reality Global Education Working Group facebook.com/GlobalClimateEducation
  • Initiated Formation of South East Climate Alliance (SECA) – a coalition of local environment, community and faith groups across South East England uniting for urgent action on climate change www.seclimatealliance.uk

Sussex Green Living is a multi-award winning environmental and education community initiative, details of our awards can be seen here https://www.sussexgreenliving.org.uk/about-us/

Sussex Green Living recently registered as a charity, number 1189569.

About TerraCycle

Founded in 2001, TerraCycle (www.terracycle.com) is the world’s leader in the collection and reuse of non-recyclable post-consumer waste. TerraCycle works with over one hundred major brands in twenty-one countries across the globe to collect used packaging and products that would otherwise be destined for landfills. It repurposes that waste into new eco-friendly materials and products that are available online and through major retailers. The waste is collected through TerraCycle’s National recycling programmes, which are free fundraisers that pay schools, charities and non-profits for every piece of waste they collect and return.

TerraCycle launched in the UK (www.terracycle.co.uk)  in September 2009 (its first market in Europe) and today operates in 12 European markets (UK, ROI, France, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Norway, Sweden and Denmark). In the UK TerraCycle currently runs collection programmes for over 40 types of waste which can’t be accepted by local council run recycling systems.  For example, cheese packaging, yoghurt pouches, L.O.L. Surprise! packaging and products, cracker and biscuit wrappers, crisp packets, nuts, popcorn and pretzel packets, confectionery wrappers, contact lenses, baby food pouches, Pringles cans, bread packaging, writing instruments, disposable gloves, pet food packaging, air, home and laundry care waste, hand soap pumps and refill pouches, plastic ring carriers (hi-cones), toothbrushes and toothpaste tubes, Aqua Optima water filters, personal care and beauty products / packaging, Tassimo & L’OR coffee pod / TDISC waste and Lavazza Eco Caps.  Currently more than 5,340,000 individuals and organisations across the UK have signed up to collect, which to date has diverted over 140 million items of packaging waste from landfill while earning over £1,440,000 for schools, charities and non-profit organisations.

Feeling inspired to get involved?

We are always looking for volunteers, so get in touch or come and meet us and see how you can get involved! Join us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, or sign up to receive our latest news (it only takes two seconds to add your email address – simply click on black ‘Follow‘ tab on bottom right of this screen!). Feel free to also send us an email using our contact form, or come and say hello at our events like the Horsham Climate Cafe or the Horsham Repair Cafe!

“Inspiring sustainable living in Sussex”