Three newly decorated glass banks are being installed in Bramley, Crossgates and Seacroft as part of a campaign to encourage glass recycling in Leeds.
Sporting colourful designs created by local youth groups, the glass banks have been designed to catch the eye and spark conversations around glass recycling.
The new glass bank in West Leeds is based at Broadlea Community Centre, Broadlea Hill, Bramley.
To celebrate the launch of the new banks and as part of the ongoing campaign, Zero Waste Leeds have been engaging the local communities about the importance of recycling their glass.
Over the last year, Leeds has increased its recycling of glass by 37%, equating to an extra 57 bottles and jars per household.
Recycling glass helps reduce carbon emissions and is a vital step in tackling the climate emergency. For every 10% of recycled glass added into a furnace there is a 2.5% energy saving. With 17 furnaces running 24/7 across Yorkshire that is a significant energy reduction.
Rob Greenland, Co-Director, Zero Waste Leeds, said:
“We were delighted to be able to work with young people in Cross Gates, Bramley and Seacroft to come up with designs for new glass banks as part of our glass recycling campaign. Each group came up with very different and wonderful designs in workshops with local social enterprises We Belong Here and Seagulls Reuse.
“We hope the new banks will encourage even more people to want to recycle their glass.
“We’re very grateful to Friends of Glass, Allied Glass and Ardagh Glass for funding the campaign, and to The Tribe Youth Group, BARCA-Leeds and Fall Into Place for their work. Working with communities in the city is at the heart of what we do at Zero Waste Leeds and we’re very proud of this collaboration.”
Cllr Mohammed Rafique, Leeds City Council’s Executive Member for Environment and Housing, said:
“I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone in Leeds who has recycled glass over the last year, it is a really important step in our mission to tackle the climate emergency so it is really pleasing to see an extra 5,000 tonnes recycled.
“Being able to expand our offering of glass banks is also a significant step in the right direction, especially when the banks are so eye-catching. I would like to thank all those involved in the delivery and design of the bottle banks and I am sure they will serve their communities well.”
Leeds has over 700 glass banks at almost 400 locations. You can find your nearest by downloading the handy Leeds Bins app or check out the interactive map on the ZWL website.