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'Rubbish' gets a make-over at Pinbrook Road Recycling Centre

Devon celebrated its Number One status as the top recycling county with a special event yesterday. Working closely with partners in all of Devon's District councils, residents are now recycling just over 55% of waste which is more than any other county in the country.

To mark this achievement, residents and school children from the Pinhoe area of Exeter gathered at the Pinbrook road recycling centre, Pinbrook Road, just off Exhibition Way (EX4 8HH), to be involved with the creation of a three dimensional representation of Devon's rubbish.
 

From left to right Roger Cox (SITA), Dave Sleeman (SITA), Sally Etherton (Teaching Assistant), Jen Gibson (Teacher), Councillor Roger Croad (Devon County Council's Cabinet Member for Environment and Community), Linda and Bryon Fishlock (Local Residents and fans of the site) and Phil Bolton (SITA) plus Pupils from Pinhoe C of E Primary School, Ellie-May Drew-Cull, Megan Goulding, Hermione Discombe, Amie Burgess and Madeleine Crow help to spell out Devon's 55% Recycle rate at the Recycling  Centre.

A 10x10 metre structure was put together from recyclable materials that can be recycled on the kerbside or which have been brought into the centre such as carpet and small electrical goods.
 

Pupils at Pinhoe school had the chance to see recycling in action first hand and question staff about how waste is processed. The school already has an active interest in the concept of recycling having established itself in the 'composting in schools' project which means that food waste is composted on school grounds.

The facility opened in May last year and provided a much needed addition to the one at Exton Road, Marsh Barton. It's designed to receive approximately 13,500 tonnes of household waste annually and is currently recycling around 86%.
Dedicated facilities are available for householders to recycle glass (bottles and window glass), paper, cardboard, cans, textiles, metals, wood, garden waste, plastic bottle, carrier bags, clean mixed packaging, engine oil, lead-acid batteries, domestic batteries, tyres, fridges, televisions, fluorescent tubes, domestic appliances & electrical equipment, plasterboard and soil/rubble.

For the first time in Devon, the centre is also able to recycle carpets. Carpets are made from natural and synthetic fibres which still have a value once they are no longer needed. Carpet recyclate can be used for; plastic park benches, soil erosion protection, road cones, compost bins, mulches, sports surfaces, ice scrapers, underlay, washing up bowls, insulation and under-bonnet car parts eg. engine housing.
 

The centre's other facility is the re-sale shop where a range of items from crockery to books to bikes are on offer and visitors can bag themselves a second hand bargain.

Cabinet Member for Environment and Community, Councillor Roger Croad says: "We want to say a big thank you to everyone in Devon for helping us to become the number one recycling county. The Pinbrook site is the latest addition to our recycling centres in the county and is a modern, user friendly, state of the art facility which I would encourage residents east of Exeter to use. Managing the county's waste presents many challenges and we need to maintain our commitment to the 3 'R's, Reduce, Re-use and Recycle. Thanks go to all involved with helping us to achieve our recycling rates and long may it continue."