Book-themed recycling campaign aims to inspire schoolchildren

The campaign aims to further reduce recycling contamination by educating children and encouraging them to ask grown-ups to ensure only recyclable items are put in clear bags. Primary schools in the borough will receive a toolkit with a link to a short video and digital learning resources for children aged up to 10, including fun quizzes and games.  

The initiative has the support of Usborne Publishing, which publishes the books that inspired the concept. The video for schools focuses on the top five contaminating items in dry, mixed recycling collections and is presented in the instantly familiar style of the 'That's not my' books. 

This new phase complements and builds on the council's current 'Top of the Contaminants' campaign, with the hope of fostering small changes when residents are recycling household items, to further reduce contamination and improve recycling practices. 

The campaign launched at Ruislip Gardens Primary School, one of the schools taking part. 

Headteacher, Nicky Bulpett, said: "We believe in empowering our pupils to become environmental champions. We fully support the council's ambition to educate children about the importance of proper recycling practices.  

"By understanding how to reduce contamination, our pupils can take these lessons home, helping their families improve recycling efforts. Together, we can make a significant impact on our community and contribute to a cleaner, greener future." 

Cllr Eddie Lavery, Hillingdon Council's Cabinet Member for Community and Environment, said: "We're driven in our ambition to deliver a greener future for the next generation and so we hope this campaign can inspire and empower children to speak out when people aren't recycling right. 

"By engaging them in a fun familiar way we hope they'll be excited to talk about recycling and the environment at school and at home and encourage small changes in behaviour. 

"We've had positive engagement with our 'Top of the Contaminants' campaign and we hope this next phase captures the imagination of our younger residents in the same way." 

Contamination occurs when an item which can't be recycled via the council's recycling collections, such as clothing, is put in residents' clear bags. Too many contaminating items can lead to good recycling being rejected at the sorting facility and the whole load instead being treated as general waste, which is bad for the environment.   

Take two seconds to check what you can and can't put in your clear recycling bags in Hillingdon and watch the campaign video at www.hillingdon.gov.uk/dry-mixed-recycling.