Recycling Ron and his remarkable rendition

Changes to recycling put into song

A catchy new song to help residents understand changes to recycling collections has been penned by a West Sussex County Council volunteer.

Ron Marsh – aka Recycling Ron – has written the ditty to tell residents across the county that they can now put plastic pots, tubs and trays in their household waste recycling bin.

Ron is one of the County Council’s Waste Prevention Advisors, a team of volunteers who go out and about in West Sussex to inform, educate and inspire local residents to waste less and recycle more.

Ron said: “As a Waste Prevention Advisor I spend a lot of my time talking to people about rubbish – it’s a subject I’m really passionate about and is more interesting than you’d think!

“I’m always playing around on my guitar, putting little songs together for my grandchildren, so I decided to take it one step further and write a couple of verses about recycling. People are bombarded with information these days, but I know from experience that singing a song will get people’s attention, so it seemed like a great way to spread our message.

“The song is a light-hearted way of getting some serious information across. Recycling is important and being able to recycle plastic pots, tubs and trays is a really big deal.

“We are all used to recycling plastic drinks bottles but now non-bottle shaped containers like yoghurt and cream pots, margarine tubs, ice cream tubs and food trays such as those used for meat, fruit and vegetables, can also be put in the household recycling bin.

“It’s a big change and it’s important that people understand what can and cannot go into their recycling bin. It’s also important to make sure items are clean, dry and loose – not in plastic bags. Getting it wrong can cause serious problems, so whilst my song is a bit of fun it could make a big difference to the way we recycle in West Sussex.”

David Barling, West Sussex County Council Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services, said: “It’s great that Ron has come up with such a novel way of spreading the news about the recycling changes, and I’d like to say a big thank you to him for his efforts.

“By adding plastic pots, tubs and trays to our collections in West Sussex we hope to recycle around 4,000 tonnes of plastic that would previously have gone to landfill – a benefit for the environment and for the county’s finances as it currently costs us £82 in landfill tax for every tonne of waste that cannot be recycled.”

To find out more about recycling in West Sussex, including what can be placed in household recycling bins, please visit www.recycleforwestsussex.org/plastics

The video is available to view here:

From 1 April plastics that can be accepted in household recycling are:

• Milk and drinks bottles (without lids)
• Bathroom bottles
• Laundry/detergent bottles and tubs
• Yoghurt, cream and soup pots
• Ice cream and margarine tubs
• Cosmetic pots and tubs
• Food and ready meal trays
• Fruit and vegetable punnets
• Plastic container lids such as those used on coffee jars

Plastic that cannot be put in household recycling:
• Plastic carrier bags and plastic film
• Expanded polystyrene
• Plant pots and seed trays
• Plastic toys
• Plastic furniture