The need for climate change action was put front and centre in 2019 and has continued into 2020. Whether it’s seeing footage of the bushfires in Australia, or the World Bank predicting the Maldives could be completely submerged by 2100 due to rising sea levels, the realities of climate change can be somewhat overwhelming.
So, with the eco-apocalypse almost upon us, what can we do as everyday consumers and inhabitants of planet earth to be more ethical shoppers?
As a nation, Scotland is working towards ambitious targets on recycling set by the Scottish Government: with 70% of waste recycled or prepared for re-use and no more than 5% of all waste to go to landfill by 2025.
The Forge Shopping Centre are launching a recycling drop off area located within the Centre on Wednesday 18th March at 10am to celebrate World Recycling Day.
Launching this will be our Special Guest ‘Bring Back Your Empties Wullie’ who will be making a return to Glasgow following the Oor Wullie Big Bucket Trail in 2019.
Bring Back Your Empties Wullie is inspired by Scotland’s forthcoming Deposit Return Scheme, in which customers will pay a 20p deposit and get it back when they return their plastic bottle, glass bottle or can for recycling. Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme will improve recycling rates, increase the quality of recycling materials, and significantly reduce litter.
The Forge will now have a location within the Centre which will allow our customers to recycle a range of products including those which don’t go in your usual home recycling bins.
- Cans – Recycling cans saves up to 95% of the energy it takes to make both aluminium and steel from raw materials. Making aluminium cans from recycled metal is 20 times more energy efficient than using ‘primary’ metal. Recycling seven cans saves enough energy to power a 60-watt light bulb for 26 hours. While cans are currently collected in household recycling, we’ll also be offering some on-the-go recycling options to help you when you are out and about at The Forge.
- Bras – It’s time to bin your bra! For every tonne of bras collected, Against Breast Cancer receives £700 to fund their research. With over 30 million women in the UK you could really help make a difference!
- Ink Cartridges – Approximately 1.3 billion inkjet cartridges are used around the world annually and less than 30 percent are currently being recycled. In one year, if the world’s discarded cartridges were stacked end-to-end, they would circle the earth twice.
- Batteries – Did you know that each year in the UK we throw away around 600 million batteries? Laid end-to-end these batteries would reach from the UK to Australia and back again. That is a lot of batteries!
- Clear Ring Carriers – It is estimated that around eight million tons of plastic is dumped in the world’s oceans every year. Although beer ring carriers only represent a small fraction of the amount of this, they can be the most dangerous to sea life. Doing your bit and recycling these troublesome plastic items will also have big impacts on local litter problems too.
- Coat hangers – Very few plastic hangers are made of just one kind of plastic, making them difficult to recycle so you can collect and take them to your own home.
- Old mascara wands are used to remove fly eggs and larva from the fur and feathers of wild animals. They work great because the bristles are close together.
The Centre as part of their current recycling plans, recycle Mixed Paper and Card, Plastic Bottles, Food Waste and General Waste. A clothing bank is also available. These new additions of waste steams will encourage our local community to think more about the recycling options available to them.
Paul Wishart, Centre Manager said:
“We normally only think of recycling in relation to what we put in our household bins – Food, Cardboard, Glass and General Waste.”
“But there is an opportunity to make a bigger difference with these additional waste streams. We may not see the difference in our lifetime but, what we should remember is that this is for our children’s future.”
William McGowan, Head of Fundraising at Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity said:
“We’re thrilled to see Bring Back Your Empties Wullie back in Glasgow after the huge success of Oor Wullie’s BIG Bucket Trail. The trail raised vital funds to help our young patients and their families, and it’s great to see Oor Wullie continuing to inspire and teach all generations about the importance of recycling.”
Claire Munro, Communications Lead, Zero Waste Scotland said:
“We’re delighted that Bring Back Your Empties, Wullie, who recently showcased the forthcoming 20p deposit scheme for cans and bottles, has got a new Glasgow ‘hame’ at the Forge, helping to launch the centre’s new recycling campaign.
“Whether it’s Oor Wullie’s old dungarees, buckets and catapults or shoppers’ clothes, toys or electrical equipment, maximising use of the materials we already have protects the environment by reducing the level of carbon emissions produced.
“Four-fifths of Scotland’s carbon footprint comes from the goods and materials that we consume. Shoppers might say ‘michty me! That’s a lot’ but being able to keep our existing equipment in use or recycling it at the end of its life is a vital part of minimising our impact. It will also protect habitats and biodiversity by reducing the demand to find and extract new materials.
“So being able to recycle whether out shopping at the Forge or at home is fantastic for the planet and all of us who live here.”
Let’s help make a difference to our communities and world.
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