Recycle & Raise

What is the Recycle and Raise Scheme?

Recycle and Raise is a recycling initiative that was launched in 2019 by Devon Contract Waste (DCW). Their goal is to help recycle hard-to-recycle plastic containers such as chocolate tubs and ice cream containers over the festive period. Last year, DCW collected over 15,000 confectionery tubs and raised £1,200 for their chosen charities.

This year, we are pleased to be supporting DCW by enabling the recycling scheme to reach a wider geographical spread. Using our transport logistics, we’re able to facilitate a single collection from each drop-off location ensuring the carbon impact of the scheme is kept to a minimum.

With a larger coverage area and DCW’s increased reprocessing capacity, we are aiming to collect and recycle even more plastic containers. We have been able to expand the accepted materials to include:

• Confectionery tubs
• Ice cream tubs
• Cracker tubs
• Milk bottle tops
• Takeaway containers

*Materials must be clean and have the 5/PP logo symbol on the container!

How does the scheme work?

Many businesses are helping to support this great cause by becoming plastic drop-off points for their employees and/or members of the public.

Each business taking part will receive a welcome pack including ready-made posters that can be placed around the premises as well as social media posts which can be shared to raise awareness. These will inform people of your involvement and where they can take their plastic containers to.

All plastic containers should be donated at your local drop-off point before 31st January 2021. They will then get collected, in bulk, and taken to DCW Polymers where the containers are shredded before being bagged and sold to manufactures to be used in place of virgin polymers. All money raised will be donated to our chosen charity, Mind.

How can you get involved?

If you want to get involved on behalf of a business, please use the contact form below to register or receive more information. A member of our team will then be in touch to answer any queries and send over your welcome pack.

We have had many businesses register already and it would be great to have more sign up with us and support such a great cause. To see how many drop-off locations we have please see the map below.

If you’re an employee of a business taking part or a member of the public and would like to donate, keep an eye out for posters informing you of where you can take your plastics to. Please make sure that all your plastic containers are empty, clean and at the drop-off point by 31st January 2021. Please also adhere to the businesses instructions as we are trying to minimise the number of touchpoints to avoid contamination and the spread of Covid-19.

To read our Recycle & Raise article, please click here.

Our Chosen Charity

Mind is a mental health charity who provide advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem. They campaign to improve services, raise awareness and promote understanding. Covid-19 restrictions have affected everyone in different ways this it’s still very uncertain times which is why it is so important to shine the light on mental health and provide support to those who may be struggling.

Once all the containers are collected, shredded and sold to manufacturers, we will be in touch with all businesses involved to let them know how much they helped us to raise. We will also be sharing the figure on our social media profiles, so make sure to follow us so you don’t miss it!

FAQs

Here are just a few FAQs, if you’re interested on signing up on behalf of a business, more questions will be answered in detail inside your welcome pack.

Will it cost me anything?​
Businesses will not be charged if they register as a drop-off location and anyone donating plastic containers will not be charged either.

What’s in it for me?
You will be helping the environment by aiding the recycling of hard-to-recycle plastics as well as helping to raise money for charity – a win-win situation really!

Where will the drop-off locations be?
You can find your local drop-off location on the map above. Each business that signs up will promote their location as well as the specific area within their premises that containers can be taken to. Drop-off points can be inside or outside of the business, so if you’re unsure, please ask a member of staff at the drop-off location.

What about COVID-19?
To avoid contamination, we are asking all our drop-off locations to keep the drop-off area easily accessible for people to simply pop in their containers without needing to ask for directions or having to touch doors/lids.

It would be great to separately store containers by the different shaped tubs and lids to help with stacking (this will also minimise how many employees within the business would need to touch when moving them to be stored).

When will the containers be collected?
All containers should be donated by 31st January, with collections taking place in February. All containers will be collected from each drop-off location over a couple of days on carefully planned routes to help minimise the number of road miles.

How are they recycled?
As part of the partnership with Devon Contract Waste, we will collate all the plastic containers before sending to DCW’s plastic reprocessing centre where the containers are shredded before being sent to manufacturers where they are made into recycled products.