If everyone in the city recycled just 22 extra plastic bottles, 17 extra glass jars and 30 more cans a year, it would push recycling rates in the city up by five percent.
And that would save Salford City Council millions of pounds on disposal costs – as well as generating extra income which could be put back into other council services.
Ben Dolan, Strategic Director for Environment and Community Safety said: “The people of Salford are already doing a brilliant job in recycling 42% of their waste which saves over £2 million every year in disposal costs.
“That saving has helped to support other essential council services. If each household can just do a little more and we can push that up by five percent in the next year we can continue to make real savings as well as protecting our environment.”
The average household uses 440 plastic bottles a year but recycles only 250 of them – partly because of confusion over what can actually be recycled.
Items such as aerosol cans, cleaning product bottles, shampoo bottles and tetra packs can be recycled as long as their lids and caps are removed as can foil trays, such as those for take aways and petfood.
The council has to pay for every tonne of landfill which is buried in the ground, a cost met by the tax payer. Recycling paper, cardboard, glass, plastic and cans bring in an income so funds can be put into other council services.
Full details of what can and can’t be recycled in Salford can be found online at: Recycling
