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THINK GREEN this Halloween!

Ghosts, witches, and Climate Change - just a few scary things this Halloween.

Leaders from around the world are now set to meet at COP26 in the next few weeks and Halloween is the perfect time to think GREEN and wake up to the scary consequences of not recycling!

Rhondda Cynon Taf Council is asking its residents to ‘go green’ and fill their green food waste caddies/bins with all their ghastly party leftovers instead of sending it to rot in landfill.  

Wasted food accounts for a staggering 8–10% of total greenhouse gas emissions and whilst some items are inedible, like peelings and egg shells, they can be recycled as part of the FREE, weekly food waste recycling scheme in RCT.

Sign up to food waste recycling at www.rctcbc.gov.uk/foodwaste

Each year, more than one million pumpkins are sold in the UK, 99% of which are used just to carve into lanterns.

Thousands more children across the County Borough are once again preparing to keep up the tradition by carving pumpkins, ducking apples and taking part in spooky activities at home.

Whilst carving pumpkins is a fun activity, the Council is reminding its residents that the insides of carved pumpkins, and also the shell of the pumpkin and remnants of Ducking Apples, can be deposited in the green food waste caddy, ready for weekly kerb-side collection after Halloween.

Halloween and recycling is firmly becoming part of our daily household routine all year around and it’s here to stay - As a nation, Wales is scarily good at it with current recycling rates, placing us as third best in the world.

Over 34,400 tonnes of recycling has been collected from the kerbside in RCT since January 2021 that’s over 8,600 recycling vehicles (4tonnes) full of recyclable materials!

Recycling is now the norm in Wales, with over 92% of us recycling regularly as part of our daily routine. We’re recycling fruit and vegetable peelings, eggshells, tea bags and plate scrapings in our food caddies; recycling from every room including the bathroom and bedroom and recycling tricky items such as empty aerosols.

The food waste recycling scheme is also reaching scary new heights with more and more residents saying they recycle their food waste. Food waste now accounts for almost 20% of what is collected every month, with 7,600 tonnes being collected since January.

As part of the Council’s ongoing commitment to climate change and recycling, it recently announced a change to the way it collects green waste recycling - The introduction of new sustainable and reusable green sacks will see the Council reduce its overall plastic usage by around 3Million Clear bags annually. In addition to this the Council is asking residents to register for the service so that the crews can avoid unnecessary journeys and reduce the Council’s overall carbon footprint.

Residents can register for the FREE service quick and easily online at www.rctcbc.gov.uk/BrandNewBag. If you do not have access to online services you can call 01443 425001, between 08.30am and 5pm Monday to Friday. Residents will then receive their TWO FREE re-usable sacks to start green waste recycling from 1st November.

Extra/replacement bags are available but will be subject to a £3 charge per bag. This charge covers the cost of the bag only.

In 2020 the Council collected over 8,200 tonnes of green waste from residents!

Halloween is also a great time to clear the skeletons out of your cupboards and get rid of your dusty old relics!

Why not clear out the garage or spare room and raise some items from the dead, giving them a new lease of life by either taking them to The Shed in Llantrisant or Treherbert, or recycling them in one of the Community Recycling Centres across Rhondda Cynon Taf.

By jumping on your broom and taking your old items to one of the Community Recycling Centres (CRCs) you will ensure that these items are recycled and turned in to new treasures and, you never know, your old cardboard toy box could be the next magazine you buy. You will also clear some space in your house.

Remember to sort through your waste prior to dropping them at the Centre, as mixed items are not accepted.

All Centres are manned and the attendants are happy to advise residents on recycling and assist them in disposing of their household material.

From November 1st the CRCs will be operating under winter opening hours - 8am to 5.30pm.

Councillor Ann Crimmings, Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment, Leisure and Heritage Services, said: “The Halloween season is a great time for families to have fun, although it is still important that we remember to think green and recycle all the extra waste that we might create.

“The support of our householders towards our food waste kerbside recycling has been amazing so far, and I would like to thank each and every resident of our County Borough for doing their bit.

"The great news is that more and more of our residents are thinking green every day and the latest figures are testament to this. We’re asking all the little (and big) witches and ghouls to recycle all their scary waste this Halloween."

Recycling in Rhondda Cynon Taf couldn't be easier, with a weekly, unlimited recycling collection and a wide variety of places, across the County Borough to pick up your recycling bags from! You can even order bags and sign up to food waste, green waste and nappy recycling online. In addition to this, ALL Community Recycling Centres across the County Borough are open 7 days a week from 8am - 7.30pm (March-October) 8am - 5.30pm (November to March). 

On average 80% of household waste is recyclable - that's 8 out of every 10 bags of waste created by households being recycled and turned in to something new.  

For more information on recycling in RCT follow us on facebook and twitter or visit www.rctcbc.gov.uk/recycling.

Posted on 25/10/2021