Reducing the amount you throw away is a great way to reduce your impact on the environment, it means less goes to landfills.
If you recycle things then you reduce the amount of raw materials that are harvested to make things.
It's even better of course if you are able to re-use items, upcycle them into something else or even to cut down on the amount you use in the first place! However, if you can't reuse or reduce then recycling is definitely the way to go!
Some things are easy to recycle, most areas of Edinburgh, for example, are well served with recycling facilities for paper, packaging, glass and food wastes (though the way these items are collected varies from area to area, which can be confusing). Other items are more difficult - what do you do with old videos for example? I had thought of pulling out the tape and using it as yarn until i read somewhere that it's actually toxic if you handle it! I have yet to find a recycling directory that has any good ideas for video tapes (if you have any ideas please let me know in the comments section. Bearing in mind that I have no intention of building a table like structure using old video tapes!).
For many things though, the Recycle Now directory of how to recycle a whole load of things looks fairly comprehensive!
Of course, recycling is something we should all do all year round, not just during Recycle Week, but it's good to have this chance to highlight the importance of recycling!
What is your top tip for recycling?