English couple creates a recycling centre in their own driveway.

In a small village in Nottinghamshire, England, one couple has taken the matter of recycling complex materials into their own hands.

Hannah and Danny Iwanejko were motivated to dispose of their waste properly but couldn’t find any solutions through their local council. Rather than just appealing for change in the local waste procedures, the family built their own free recycling centre for the community in their very own driveway.

“The moment I decided to do something myself was [my daughter’s] first birthday in August. I saw what was going on in the Amazon, the war on plastic and David Attenborough’s programs. I thought, ‘Hang on a second, I can do my bit. I need a central point where people can easily recycle,” Hannah told reporters.

The Iwanejko’s DIY recycling centre, built from scrap metal and wood, accepts many materials that are often difficult to dispose of. Plastics such as Tetra Pak packaging, coffee pods, baby food pouches and crisp packets that usually get sent to landfill are placed into specific bins, which Hannah then drives to nearby facilities for recycling. “People are coming with their waste from outside and village and people from all over are contacting me asking how to do it themselves,” Hannah said.

Within the first month, the couple’s green waste hub diverted 2,000 pounds of materials from landfill. Terracycle, a company that specialises in materials that are harder to recycle, processes many of these plastics into pellets which are then used in flooring, roofing, or outdoor furniture.

“It is so frustrating that the council won’t take tetra, crisp packets and bread bags. People want to recycle, but the council is not making it easy for us," Hannah said.

"There is so much bureaucracy and red tape in the way.”

Hoping to make a positive difference, the family is fighting for change in the community and urging the councils to improve their facilities to divert more waste from landfill.

Positive Action

• Dispose of your recyclable materials responsibly by checking out our RecyclingNearYou website!

1 October 2019

 PLANET ARK