DORSET residents are being encouraged to recycle hard-to-recycle waste, saving it from landfills and raising funds for a Dorset-based environmental charity at the same time.

Dorset charity Win on Waste has signed up to several recycling programmes offered by TerraCycle, the world leader in the recycling of hard-to-recycle waste.

This has enabled them to set up a public drop off location in Poole, alongside seven community-based collection sessions, where people can drop off their biscuit wrappers, bread bags, crisp packets, and Pringles cans, oral care products, flexible pouches, Marigold gloves, flexible cheese packaging, air home and laundry packaging, ring carrier, and coffee bags to be sent in for recycling.

None of this waste can be included in local kerbside recycling collections so traditionally has ended up in landfill or been incinerated.

Stacey Woods, who set up and manages the public drop off location for Win on Waste said: “We carry out a lot of work locally based around waste and consumption, so we signed up for these great free programmes run by TerraCycle to recycle a whole host of waste which the local council recycling collections can’t accept. We decided to set up a public access drop-off location in Poole, alongside our collection sessions, so local people can drop off their crisp packets and Pringles cans and biscuits wrappers every day of the week.”

The collected waste is then recycled by shredding, cleaning and turning into a pellet format which can then be used by manufacturers to create new generic plastic products such as outdoor furniture, lumber and construction applications reducing the need to extract new resources from the planet.

As well as benefitting the environment, these programmes also help raise funds for Win on Waste and other local organisations. For each unit of waste collected, Win on Waste receives TerraCycle points that can be redeemed as a monetary donation to the charity.

Stacey said: “So far the communities we work in in the BCP and Dorset Council areas have helped us to send in 450,000 pieces of waste to TerraCycle for recycling, raising £6,000 for charity. This initiative is a great way to help both the environment and local charities, so we encourage everyone in Poole to drop off their waste for recycling at one of our waste collection sessions (details on www.winonwaste.org) or at our public drop off location (25 Rowbarrow Close, Poole, BH17 9EA) between 9am and 9pm and to help us spread awareness locally by telling their friends, families, and colleagues.”