RECYCLE WEEK: LOCAL RESIDENT RAISES THOUSANDS FOR NORWICH ANIMAL SANCTUARY BY RECYCLING “UNRECYCLABLE” ITEMS

1. Norwich resident, Susan Simpson, gives thanks to the local community on Recycle Week.

£22,000 has been raised for Norwich-based Hallswood Animal Sanctuary by recycling “unrecyclable” waste from the community.

Local recycling champion Susan Simpson and her team of volunteers collect packaging and products from the community that the council doesn’t collect to be recycled, and sends them to TerraCycle.

Hallswood Animal Sanctuary is a local charity dedicated to rescuing, supporting and advocating for wildlife.

Recycle Week 2022 is from 17th-23rd October, and this year Norwich resident, Susan Simpson, would like to thank the community for helping raise more than £22,000 for Norwich-based charity Hallswood Animal Sanctuary by recycling “unrecyclable” items.

Local resident Susan Simpson signed up to collect a range of waste that isn’t collected by the council to be recycled by TerraCycle, the world leaders in recycling hard-to-recycle waste.

With the help of a group of dedicated volunteers, Susan collects on 12 TerraCycle programmes including the Colgate and Hello Oral Care Free Recycling Programme which recycles oral care products such as toothpaste tubes and plastic toothbrushes of any brand; the KP Snacks Nuts, Popcorn, Crisps and Pretzels Packet programme to recycle snack packets; and the Warburtons Bakery Free Recycling Programme for any brand of bakery plastic packaging such as bread bags.

Other items that can be dropped off at Susan’s public collection point at Thorpe Plant Centre, Norwich, include cleaning and personal care products and packaging, cheese packaging and flexible coffee packaging. All these items are considered “hard-to-recycle” and are not collected by the council to be recycled, meaning they are traditionally destined for landfill or incineration.

“Hard-to-recycle” waste costs more to recycle than the recycled product is worth which makes it uneconomical for councils to collect and process it. TerraCycle fills this gap by working with brands who sponsor the recycling programmes, making them free for the public to use.

So far Susan and her volunteers have collected more than 3 million pieces of waste with the help of her local community. For each unit of waste collected for recycling, TerraCycle points are awarded which are redeemable as monetary donations to charities, non-profits and schools.

Through their efforts Susan and her volunteers have raised over £22,000 for Norwich-based Hallswood Animal Sanctuary. The donations go towards covering vet bills for the rescued animals, replacing old equipment and buildings, and funding food for the wildlife.

Susan said: “I signed up to TerraCycle’s programmes as I wanted to find a way to help the community recycle more than we can through council collections alone. So many products we use every day and the packaging they come in can’t be recycled in this way, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be recycled at all.

“It’s amazing to think that we have stopped millions of pieces of waste from going to landfill, incineration or the natural environment. The response from the community has been nothing short of inspiring and the success of the location can be put down to the support given by the volunteers that help me collect and prepare the recycling for sending off.”

For more information about TerraCycle, or to get involved and help Susan with her recycling efforts, head to: https://www.terracycle.com/en-GB

About TerraCycle

TerraCycle is an international leader in innovative sustainability solutions, creating and operating first-of-their-kind platforms in recycling, recycled materials, and reuse.  Across 21 countries, TerraCycle is on a mission to rethink waste and develop practical solutions for today’s complex waste challenges. The company engages an expansive multi-stakeholder community across a wide range of accessible programs, from Fortune 500 companies to schools and individuals.

An estimated 6.9 million people across the UK have helped us to divert more than 231 million items of packaging waste from landfill while earning over £2,000,000 for schools, charities and non-profit organisations. To learn more about TerraCycle and join them on their journey to move the world from a linear economy to a circular one, please visit www.terracycle.co.uk.

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