Tuesday 22nd April 2008
(ref:
115/2008)
It’s official!
Lowton is the recycling capital of the borough. To be exact, it’s one family that is leading efforts to save the planet by recycling old cans and tins.
The Smith family – mum, dad, kids – is the latest winner of the council’s recycling competition. The Smiths follow a line of eager recyclers who have won £200 by putting their empties into the nearest can bank. In fact mum Deborah’s own mother Susan has been a previous winner.
“It’s funny that mum won last time,” laughs Deborah, “But it’s no fix, we’ve always liked to do our bit, and especially with a big family, it’s an easy way to slim our bin.”
Wigan Council’s Nick Deakin presented David and Deborah with their winnings, plus there’s another £200 going to the Smiths’ chosen school, Lowton J&I, where the children go…and of course the same school which grandma nominated last time.
Nick says: “I always say how it’s great to reward eager recyclers, but to get two members of the same family winning consecutive prizes, it’s amazing. Well done to them. It just shows that when you go green, it is easy to bring your family along too.”
Deborah has a clear recycling message to people:
“We just do it. Items are sorted and taken to the bottle and can banks. It’s important for all our futures and when the recycling sites for empty cans and tins are next to the shops where you buy new, full ones, there’s no excuse.”
Every two months for the next year, there’s a prize from the council’s green team for a resident who uses their local can recycling bank. The Smith family labelled their old tins with their details, and recently, one of them was drawn out at random from the thousands collected at the council’s recycling centre in Ince. As well your own name, the green team are asking for the name of a borough school which will also win £200.
- Residents can download entry labels from the council’s website, or pick them up from local libraries, or you can even sticky-tape name, address and nominated school onto empties deposited in the roadside can banks.
- Wigan Borough has around 150 local recycling centres, usually near to pubs and supermarkets for the easy recycling of a variety of materials. Residents can find their nearest site on the recycling pages at the council’s website.
