Recycle Week is the flagship annual event from Recycle Now which aims to celebrate protecting the environment.

The initiative runs from September 20-26 this week, and is funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

It has been going for 18 years now where governments, trade associations, waste management companies, brands and the media come together to galvanise the public into recycling the right things.

Donors for this campaign include Amazon, McDonalds, Listerine, Co-op, Innocent Drinks and the Natural Source Waters Association.

The theme for this year is ‘Step it Up this Recycle Week’ as the initiative takes into consideration the effect the coronavirus pandemic has had on everyone.

On its website it reads: “We know environmental concerns are still on the increase, so we need to do more. We need to do it now. And we need to act together. It’s time to join the fight against climate change.”

In a video posted onto the Recycle Now Twitter page this morning to promote the week it claimed that recycling in the UK saves 18 million tonnes of C02 every year, which is equivalent to taking 12 million cars off the roads.

What can you do for Recycle Week 2021

The whole point of Recycle Week is to educate others on how to recycle more.

One point where you could gain some knowledge is on how to recycle a whole assortment of items you might have not even considered could be reused.

On their website there is a whole A-Z list of how to recycle objects, from aerosols, to mobile phones, to sofas and much more.

Taking the effort to clean items such as foil is also a useful way to make an item recyclable and avoid adding it to the rubbish bin.

Encouraging others to put more thought into what can be recycled would also be helpful.

Who has been supporting Recycle Week 2021?

Many companies, organisations and trusts have been voicing their support for Recycle Week online.

One Minute Briefs tweeted: “One Minute Brief of the Day: Create posters encouraging people to Step It Up and recycle more to fight climate change this #RecycleWeek with @recycle_now”

The LEO Academy Trust in Sutton were also keen to get on board.

They tweeted: “From Monday, we will be celebrating Recycle Week & taking action for the #planet. We’re launching our LEO Sustainability Strategy during the nation’s annual celebration of recycling. Let’s all recycle more of the right things, more often.”

Cardiff Metropolitan University were also taking action to contribute, advertising all the opportunities for students to recycle on campus through their water refill stations and recycling points for plastic, paper, cans and clothing.

Alongside that, the consumer watchdog Which? posted a video showing how people could recycle kitchen foil.