
The climate emergency is becoming more pressing, and finding new ways to limit our environmental footprint has become essential. Nonetheless, recycling is not always easy, and most of the UK household waste does still end up in a landfill. Nonetheless, sustainability truly starts in the household, and understanding what the efforts of the local community and government are can help us find the motivation needed to keep up with our own waste management resolution.

In Leicestershire, over 436,000 tonnes of waste were collected from people’s homes in 2019. Of these, only 140,000 tonnes were able to be recycled – around 45.5% of the total. This percentage represents a drastic drop of 10% compared to the 173,000 tonnes (or 56.4%) recycled in 2010. In a moment when recycling is more important than ever, the Leicestershire County Council is struggling to keep up with the Government latest target to recycle 50%.
The Good News
While these statistics can be discouraging, there are also positive updates from the waste disposal front in Leicestershire. Aggrecycle – one of the leading rubbish recycling companies in the county – is undergoing an impressive £100,000 rebrand project. From investing in new vehicles to more relevant offers for the community, the organisation is hoping to recycle much more than the 150,000 tonnes of material they were able to recycle in 2020.
In Leicestershire, a company of this size leading the county’s recycling mission can truly represent an important motivator for everyone in the area – from businesses to individual households. And, with recycling services always closer and more accessible by the community, it has become easier to make the right choice.

At the same time, the local McDonald’s staff partnered with South Leicestershire Litter Wombles to organise one of the most successful cleanup campaigns in the county. The McDonald’s team, together with the litter-picking experts at Litter Wombles, managed to clean up the countryside and collect over 40 bags of rubbish in just a day!
While this event is still talked about as one of the most successful ones, Litter Wombles are always in operation with new events every week. Whether they are cleaning the countryside, dusting the city streets, or bringing the beauty of the local neighbour to the surface, their events are open to anyone – join them today!
Fly Tipping Is Illegal – No Matter What Waste Your Dump

Undoubtedly, sustainability and recycling are serious topics that need to be addressed in any county. However, the locals in Leicestershire also need to learn more about the legalities of fly-tipping. Back in March, an anonymous fly-tipper dumped a whopping 15 black bins full of unwanted marijuana plants and soil. But no matter what you are trying to get rid of, fly-tipping is illegal across the country. Anyone disposing of their waste illegally might face fines as high as £300. When these also involve getting rid of several bags of marijuana, the situation can become even more complicated. Today, the anonymous fly-tipper has not yet been caught, but this event helped sensibilise people across the county about the seriousness of these events.