Stafford resident is raising funds for local charity by recycling the "unrecyclable"

Justine first started collecting in 2019 and has since joined several of TerraCycle’s Free Recycling Programmes, these programmes enable the collection of items such as coffee pouches, Pringles tubes, and cheese packaging to name a few, which are not included in council kerbside recycling collections, so have traditionally been destined for landfill or incineration.

Once dropped off at the drop off point which Justine established, the items are sent to TerraCycle, the world leader in recycling hard-to-recycle waste, where they are given a second lease of life. The drop off location can be found in the recycling shed at the rear of Rehome Repurpose, Castlefields, Newport Road, Stafford ST16 1BQ, and is open to the community Monday to Friday 9am-4pm, and on Saturday 10am-4pm.

For every item collected, TerraCycle points are earned. These points are redeemed as monetary donations that Justine is using to help her chosen charity. Local residents are encouraged to bring their “unrecyclable” items to this location to be recycled and to help boost Justine’s fundraising efforts.

Justine Dicesare, the administrator of the drop-off location, commented: “We have so far raised over £13,702 through our waste collection with TerraCycle, but there is plenty more for us to collect and to be recycled! We are encouraging everyone in the area to come and drop off their items that we can recycle to our local drop off location and to help raise more funds for our chosen local charity. Together we can help to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill all the while helping to raise money for a good cause.”

The collected items are sent to TerraCycle and are recycled by shredding, cleaning and turning them into plastic pellets which are used by manufacturers to create new generic plastic products, such as outdoor equipment – reducing the need to extract new resources from the planet.