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 17th-23rd October is Recycle Week!
Recyle Week, is the nation’s biggest annual celebration of recycling. This Recycle Week we need to get real, about where we are, where we want to be and how we’re all going to get there.
Citizens have more questions than ever about their recycling, and Maidstone Borough Council is supporting Recycle Now by giving people real answers throughout the Week and beyond. We will focus on three common questions:
Does my recycling really make a difference?
YES IT DOES- Recycling in the UK saves 18 million tonnes of Co2 a year, helping to reduce climate change.
One item in the bin can’t hurt, can it?
Unfortunately, YES IT CAN- Do not put in any food, nappies, wood, plastic bags, textiles or other rubbish. Use the green recycling bin for dry recycling materials only.
Recycling is so confusing, Isn’t it?
Maybe slightly, but, WE CAN HELP- Check out: www.maidstone.gov.uk/mybin or ask recycling@maidstone.gov.uk to find out what you can recycle in Maidstone
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This Recycle Week we want to hear from you!
Maidstone Borough Council’s Environmental Services team wants to hear from you! This is an opportunity for you to tell us what you are most interested in as a resident of Maidstone and let our team know the environmental information you need.
You can get involved by completing our short survey to tell us about the topics that interest you. The survey takes less than 5 minutes to complete. We will use this information to update our environmental services newsletter. We also want to hear from you in our discussion section. What are your top recycling or gardening tips? What recycling information confuses you? Let us know how we can help make recycling easier for you! Click the button below to take part!
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Your recycling rates in Maidstone are still more than 51% - Thank you!
Thousands of tonnes of paper, card, glass bottles, plastic bottles and cans, have all been properly recycled into something useful because of you! This will help save valuable resources, reduce energy usage and improve the environment by reducing the carbon footprint of the area. Thank you!
The national recycling rate is 44% so a recycling rate of 51% is something to be proud of!
But, we think we can do even better! Follow our top tips below to get your recycling right...
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Businesses working together to #CleanUpMaidstone Town Centre
As part of the Council’s #CleanUpMaidstone campaign, teams from The Mall, Lockmeadow Leisure Complex, Hazlitt Theatre, One Maidstone and charity MADM joined forces to tackle areas of the town centre which needed extra attention.
 Teams worked on projects in areas of the town including removing graffiti and restoring the area in Gabriels Hill and Fairmeadow. They also took part in litter picking at Romney Place and along the riverbank from Lockmeadow to Tovil Bridge where over 30 sacks of rubbish were collected by the volunteers in just two hours from the areas. Overseeing the start of the project was the Mayor of Maidstone, Cllr Derek Mortimer who said: “The whole idea of #CleanUpMaidstone is to encourage everyone to get involved whoever they are and whatever they do and today has been a great example of that.'
Maidstone Borough Council saw changes to the street landscape and neighbourhoods across the borough when the first Covid lockdown was lifted in 2020, when there was an increase of 250% in littering. In response the Council introduced the #CleanUpMaidstone campaign which reminds us that waste is everyone’s problem and that we have a role to play in solving it.
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Raise funds for your school with Rag Bag's textile recycling!
The 'Rag Bag' recycling scheme has been developed to provide regular fundraising for schools and nurseries in the UK. The scheme increases awareness about textile recycling and helps the environment by ensuring less material goes to landfill. The scheme is completely FREE, and your school will be paid for every kg recycled. Rag Bag provide three options: a bag scheme, an inside bank scheme or an outside bank scheme. You can raise hundreds of pounds with every collection made!
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#LitterHero
Our #LitterHero's this month are Alice, 15 and Amelie, 14, from Invicta Grammar School.
Alice and Amelie are Invicta Grammar School Students who completed their Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award earlier this year. As part of this award Alice and Amelie volunteered to litter pick in their local area every week for 6 months. Maidstone Borough Council assisted the students by supplying equipment, waste collections and acting as their assessor on completion of their volunteering.
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Any students who wish to take part in the DoE Bronze Scheme for volunteering in the 2022/2023 year are welcome to contact streetscene@maidstone.gov.uk
Do you know an individual or group who are #litterheros and deserve recognition? If so we want to hear from you! Contact us at gogreengowild@maidstone.gov.uk to nominate your local litter hero!
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Want to get involved with litter picking...
MBC co-ordinates groups of litter pickers across the borough and is always looking for more! Do you think you could be a #LitterHero? If so, please contact below. You will be put in touch with your local team and provided with tools and bags.
Thank you for your support.
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 Volunteers Needed!
The Friends of Cobtree Manor Park Group are looking for volunteers to come forward and assist the Medway Valley Countryside Partnership and Maidstone Borough Council with maintaining this beautiful park.
Cobtree Manor Park is popular with visitors and families, especially over the last couple of years, standing within the site of the old Maidstone Zoo. Cobtree is steeped in history with over 50 hectares of open space and woodland with a beautiful arboretum & wildlife pond.
Tasks as a Friend of Cobtree Manor Park include:
- Quarterly Practical Task Days (Pond Management/Tree/Hedge Planting/ Litter Picking)
- All equipment and tools provided
- Fully supervised with training and support offered by Medway Valley Countryside Partnership
- Opportunities to assist with ecological surveying, education and events
- Make new friends and connect with this beautiful park
Interested? Get in contact with MVCP by calling 03000 414795 or email medwayvalley@kent.gov.uk
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Your Wildlife Friendly Garden
Autumn is a very important time in a wildlife friendly garden as it is now that wildlife needs the most help to get through the winter months! For most species autumn is about getting enough food and shelter to ensure they survive to breed in the spring.
Although it is tempting to cut back perennials as they start to die off, pruning too harshly removes an important habitat for invertebrates in the winter months. This means less natural food for ground feeding birds such as blackbird, robin, song thrush and dunnock. A good compromise is to cut down large stems and flower heads but leave plenty of foliage at or near to ground level.
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Try composting this autumn as well! Open compost heaps are an easy way to provide a great habitat for wildlife, such as invertebrates, amphibians and some mammals, to hibernate in. You can use the dead foliage from the perennials, but the best material for volume is fallen leaves. Try to pick a corner of the garden that is relatively sheltered from wind, so the leaves don’t get blown back onto the lawn. Use branches and twigs around the outside, and on top of the heap to help keep the material in place as it starts to rot down.
Finally, autumn is the perfect time to think about garden birds! Now is the time to put up a nest box, providing a safe and relatively warm place for a number of species to spend the long cold nights. Also make sure you clean your bird feeders and regularly fill them!
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If you have any tips about gardening or how to minimise waste which others could use please let us know by emailing us at gogreengowild@maidstone.gov.uk
If you have enjoyed reading our Environmental Services update, why not forward this email onto your friends and family so they can 'Stay Connected' to news from Maidstone Borough Council.
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