New glass recycling bottle banks installed in Bramley, Crossgates and Seacroft

New glass recycling bottle banks have been installed across Leeds.
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The new glass banks, which have been colourfully decorated by local youth groups, have been installed in Bramley, Crossgates and Seacroft.

It is part of a joint campaign run by Zero Waste Leeds with Leeds City Council.

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The glass banks were transported to their new homes on Monday, August 16.

Youth groups decorating the new glass bottle recycling banks in Leeds.Youth groups decorating the new glass bottle recycling banks in Leeds.
Youth groups decorating the new glass bottle recycling banks in Leeds.

Over the last year, Leeds has increased its recycling of glass by 37 per cent, 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 per cent of recycled glass added into a furnace there is a 2.5 per cent energy saving.

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With 17 furnaces running 24/7 across Yorkshire that is a significant energy reduction.

Leeds City Council’s Executive Member for Environment and Housing, Councillor Mohammed Rafique, 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.”

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.

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"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.”

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You can find your nearest glass bottle bank by downloading the Leeds Bins app or check out the interactive map on the Zero Waste Leeds website.

It’s really easy to recycle glass – you don’t need to colour sort it and you can even leave bottle tops and lids on and these will get recycled too.

Glass collected in Leeds goes to a local facility, where they sort, process, and remelt 95 per cent of the glass into new bottles, thereby reducing further transport requirements and reducing carbon emissions.

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