Did you know that Surrey residents are the second-best county for recycling waste. A recent report has revealed that 54.0% of the waste we throw away was turned into something new, whether it was clothing, energy, fertiliser or new packaging. This sees the county way above the England average of just 41.7%.

Reigate & Banstead’s fleet of refuse trucks

The report also shows Surrey is going in the right direction on the two other key measures used to assess performance on waste:

  • Surrey residents are throwing away less rubbish. On average, each household reduced their rubbish by 5.3% last year.
  • The proportion of waste that was sent to landfill dropped to 4.4%, a dramatic drop which means that 95.6% of Surrey’s waste was repurposed once collected. If it wasn’t recycled or landfilled, it was turned into energy (36.7% of waste).

Further good news comes as it’s revealed that 89% of Surrey’s waste was processed in the UK. 83% of recycling and 98% of rubbish stayed on our shores. The more that is kept in the UK the better, as fewer emissions are used in transporting materials across long distances.

What we can recycle from home (plus food waste and garden refuse)

The Surrey Environment Partnership, a partnership set up by Surrey County Council and the  11 local councils in Surrey, is working to improve these statistics still further and to encourage us to recycle more.

It has set up a scheme called “Rethink Waste” and is encouraging residents to sign up to this programme. Residents are being encouraged to sign up and take part in a range of recycling focused activities. This includes lots of information, competitions and prizes! It is open to everyone but, in our view,  particularly appropriate in encouraging young people to get serious over weight management.