Column by South Gloucestershire Council's cabinet member for communities and local place, Rachael Hunt.

We have excellent recycling rates in South Gloucestershire, which is something to celebrate, but we can always do more. What better time to up our game than now, as Recycle Week (20 to 26 September) draws to a close?

Recycle Week is the UK’s largest national annual recycling campaign. This year the campaign is focusing on climate change and how, by simply recycling, we can all help make a huge difference to our planet. Recycling reduces carbon emissions by keeping more materials in use for longer and saving energy.

This Recycle Week, England’s national recycling organisation Recycle Now is urging the nation to ‘Step It Up’ and be more effective recyclers by checking items a little closer before putting them in the bin.

Almost 9 out of 10 UK residents regularly recycle, however over half of households still put one or more items that could be recycled into the general rubbish. The following statistics highlight the difference we can make by recycling:

•Making four shampoo bottles from recycled materials uses the same energy as making one from scratch

•Making 20 aerosols from recycled materials uses the same energy as making one from scratch

•UK recycling saves 18 million tonnes of CO2 a year – equal to taking 12 million cars off the road or 27 million of us going vegetarian.

Let’s step up our recycling efforts in our homes. Recycle bathroom plastics, make the black bin a food waste free zone, and rinse out jars, cans and bottles to make sure they can be recycled.

If we can use the week in South Gloucestershire to spur us on to become even more accomplished at recycling, we will also be helping tackle the climate crisis. Recycling is a simple, positive action that everyone can take to help fight climate change. We can be climate heroes every single day.

Find out more about what you can recycle from home by taking a look at our special webpage southglos.gov.uk/recycleweekly

You can find out more about Recycle Week by visiting the Recycle Now website recyclenow.com/recycle-week-2021