John Craven says Recycle for Cumbria

BBC TV`s Countryfile presenter John Craven is urging Cumbria residents to: "Recycle for Cumbria!" John was launching Resource Cumbria`s Recycle for Cumbria campaign on Wednesday 31 January at the County Council`s Flusco Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) at Penrith. The nine-month campaign is aimed at encouraging residents throughout Cumbria to recycle more, more often.

Currently, the overall recycling rate for Cumbria is 37 per cent but, Resource Cumbria - an innovative partnership comprising the county and six district councils - aims to be recycling 60 per cent of all of the county`s household waste by 2011-12. The campaign is funded by a £392k grant from the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) Behavioural Local Change Fund.

John said: "I have three types of bins at home - for general waste, for plastics and paper, and for garden rubbish. My wife and I keep to these rules and we take our glass to the bottle bank."

John has helped his own council at Cherwell Valley, one of the UK`s top 10 areas for recycling, with its own campaign, which has resulted in a 50 per cent reduction in landfill waste. John adds: "Recycling reduces a large amount of biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste which would normally go to landfill.I have launched several council recycling schemes around the country and always stress the importance of recycling and reusing whatever we can."

Last year, only 19 per cent of household waste paper in Cumbria was recycled, equating to 12,240 tonnes. The average Herdwick sheep weighs around 55kg, so the amount of paper recycled in Cumbria last year was equal to the weight of 222,500 sheep, or 24,480 bars of Kendal mint cake.

Vice-Chair of Resource Cumbria Councillor Raynor Bloxham says: "The hard-hitting message is that, despite the fact that we need to fall below the government`s limit on how much waste we can send to land-fill sites, we just don`t have enough holes in the ground in which to put the amount of waste we generate.

"All the councils involved in Resource Cumbria have plenty of options to help residents recycle. Resource Cumbria is recruiting three Recycling Rangers who will be able to give doorstep advice and find solutions for those people who may find it difficult to recycle their household waste, or who are not sure what they can do about it."

During the campaign, which runs until September, road shows will visit key locations in Cumbria. Recycling Rangers will be on hand to offer advice and information, and products made from recycled materials will be on show.

A Recycle for Cumbria Golf Championship will be held at six golf clubs around the county, starting in April and culminating in the final at Kendal Golf Club on 8 June during Recycle Now Week. A `Junk Art` competition is also being run, with prizes for people who can create the best artwork from recycled materials. There will be three age categories: up to 11 years of age; 12 -17 years of age; and 18 plus. Entries will be displayed at each of the Golf Championship qualifying events and the winning entry will be chosen by John Craven and the Resource Cumbria Recycling Rangers at the Golf Championship dinner, following the Final on 8 June.