Derby joins In The Loop with new colourful bins to boost recycling on-the-go

Published: 15 June 2023

• Derby #InTheLoop set to improve recycling on-the-go
• Eye-catching bins aim to educate residents and visitors on how to recycle while out and about

Bright, colourful and eye-catching bins have appeared in Derby, as a new on-the-go recycling initiative is launched by Derby City Council. Derby #InTheLoop is a summer long trial which will make it as easy as possible for residents and visitors to recycle empty glass, plastic bottles and cans and therefore improve recycling rates.

The initiative is a partnership between Derby City Council and environmental charity Hubbub, made possible with funding from The Coca-Cola Foundation.

On-the-go waste continues to be a significant problem for authorities across the country. It is estimated that 9 in 10 of us recycle at home compared to 4 in 10 who recycle on-the-go1. In 2019 an estimated eight billion drinks containers failed to get recycled in the UK2. That means they were either landfilled, incinerated or littered. At the same time, less than half of local authorities currently have on-street recycling systems3.

This new initiative in Derby is part of #InTheLoop, the UK’s biggest collaborative approach to boost recycling on-the-go, which was first trialled in Leeds in 2018, followed by similar trials in Swansea, Edinburgh, Dublin, Wimbledon, Telford and Lambeth. Across the previous pilot projects, over 2.5 million plastic and glass bottles and cans were collected and recycled.

In Derby, a number of new look recycling bins will be positioned strategically across Darley Park, Markeaton Park, Cathedral Green and River Gardens to encourage them to recycle on-the-go.
The new bins will collect empty glass and plastic bottles, as well as cans so these valuable materials can be made into something new instead of going to waste.

To keep contamination to a minimum, people are being urged to put items like coffee cups, dog waste and crisp packets in general litter bins and to think “if in doubt, leave it out”.

Derby City Council is one of four local authorities chosen by the Coca Cola In The Loop grant funding to introduce or improve their recycling points in areas that include waterways, such as coastline, riverways, canals, docks or wetlands. All four winning projects involve the roll out of bright, colourful and eye-catching bins, targeted messaging and local partnerships to encourage positive behaviour change, with a particular focus on reducing the level of rubbish reaching destinations downstream of the waterways where the campaigns are taking place.

Derby City Council will be working with Hubbub to measure the impact and effectiveness of the new bins. The results and learnings from Derby #InTheLoop will contribute to provide renewed insight to the #InTheLoop toolkit, an in-depth guide on how to roll out successful campaigns, to benefit other interested local authorities and organisations who can access the learnings and downloadable assets for free.

Once the pilot in Derby has proved successful there may be a rollout across the rest of the city

Beau Zilesnick, Project Lead at Hubbub, said:

“We’re really excited to bring #InTheLoop to Derby. Through our eye-catching bins, we want to give residents, workers and visitors a better and easier opportunity to recycle while out and about. We’re urging everyone to use the new bins and help us ensure that as much valuable packaging is recycled as possible.”

Councillor Hardyal Dhindsa added:

“We’re thrilled to have been granted this funding to improve our city’s recycling rate. We hope that people enjoy using the bins and take part in the surveys to let us know their thoughts.”

For more information visit letstalk.derby.gov.uk/recycling-on-the-go

Community, Consultation, Environment, Streets, Waste