Aniko’s
From big city to little village
Journey
DID KN W
YOU
You can also recycle light bulbs, batteries and textiles from your kerbside on your recycling day?
Good to know Your silver food caddy takes: • Fruit and veg peelings • Teabags • Bones, eggshells • Dairy • Pet food • Plate scrapings No thanks: liquids (milk, oil) or food containers. The food collected is transformed into gas for the national grid to power homes and fertiliser for farming – turning waste into something useful.
Why recycling matters more than ever
The bigger picture in Telford & Wrekin In Telford & Wrekin, 49 per cent of our waste is recycled, but we can do more . Half of households use the weekly food waste collection, recycling 400 tonnes each month . Yet nearly 5,000 tonnes still end up in red-top bins every year. That’s the weight of 4,000 Indian rhinos!
Aniko’s concerns go far beyond bins. “It really worries me about all the wasted resources that people aren’t recycling,” she says. When Aniko first moved to England from Budapest 15 years ago, she was struck by how organised and efficient the recycling system was in Lightmoor, where she now lives. “I love it here,” she says with a smile. “The two-week collection cycle, right on your doorstep works really well for us, we don’t even fill a red-top bin in two weeks.” But despite the convenience, Aniko admits she feels guilty about the planet’s destruction and is baffled by those who don’t recycle. “Especially when it’s so easy here, the Council does everything. In Hungary, we had to pay an expensive private waste company to take all our rubbish together, food, metal, paper, everything. Here, it’s sorted and collected every Back in Budapest, recycling was a very different experience. Living in an inner-city apartment meant the responsibility fell squarely on individuals. “We took our own plastic bottles to a machine in the supermarket,” she explains. “It gave you a deposit back. It was a good system in some ways, there was no litter because this rubbish had value, and someone would always pick up a plastic bottle. “Everyone grew up being responsible for their own waste, otherwise you were just throwing money away. Having your waste collected each week from your own home is so much easier.” A habit that stuck For Aniko, recycling is more than a routine, it’s a small but meaningful way to fight climate change. “Global warming, flash floods, freak weather, it’s all connected,” she says. “Putting rubbish week for different types of waste.” Recycling in Hungary: A different story
For more information on how to prepare your waste visit
If you’re not recycling food waste yet, give it a go. in the right bin might not feel like saving the planet, but it’s something I can do and feel responsible for.” Sustainability is a deeply personal value for her. “I get quite upset when I see people not recycling,” she admits. “I just don’t understand how they can’t think about the impact on the environment. If we’re not careful, we’ll have nothing to hand down to our grandchildren.” Living sustainably every day Her eco-consciousness extends to shopping habits too. “We buy fresh produce to minimise packaging, and I do a lot of cooking to cut down on waste,” she explains. “I wish supermarkets would remove unnecessary plastic, like the wrapping around peppers and tomatoes. Nature already gives us the perfect biodegradable packaging.”
www.Telford.gov.uk/Recycling
Compared to Hungary, Aniko says so much more is done here and it’s well organised. “I see sorting waste as a responsibility for our future. Paper, metal, glass, or plastic can be recycled, so fewer new raw materials need to be extracted. That means less mining and less energy used in manufacturing. I’m more than happy to do my bit if it means saving the planet—even if it’s just a little.” Aniko’s home setup Today, Aniko is impressed by the efficiency in Lightmoor. “It’s so easy,” she says. “In my kitchen, I have two small containers, one for glass, plastics, and tins, and one for paper and card, plus a food caddy. We used to be a family of four, but now the children are at university and there’s just two of us, so we have a lot less rubbish. Virtually nothing goes in my red-top bin anymore.”
TOTALLY TELFORD
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