Lindfield litter

What to do with used PPE face masks in Lindfield

A local woman and Lindfield business have worked together to combat the dropped littering of masks since the pandemic started. Sophie Lamb swapped her two hours of commuting to/from Surrey when the first lockdown started, which she joyously replaced with working from home and walking around Lindfield and Haywards Heath instead. “With less traffic at the time, I noticed more nature and enjoyed the peace and quiet of my walks,” she commented.

With the easing of restrictions last summer however, she noticed more and more litter appearing on her routes. Sophie bought herself a litter picker and decided to ‘do her bit’, often filling one or two carrier bags each time. “Whilst actively looking for litter, I noticed more and more discarded PPE masks, and in a two week period I collected well over 100 masks. My main concern (apart from them being unsightly), was the risk to our local wildlife, so I looked for a way to recycle them and came across www.Reworked.com.”

ReWorked makes a plastic sheet product called Stormboard from 100% recycled plastic – often from waste that is considered ‘unrecyclable’, including used disposable masks which are normally made from polypropylene.

Sophie invested in a collection box from ReWorked and - with the help of Maxine Hayes at Potential Personal Training – anyone with used disposable masks can drop them into the reception at Unit 7 Lindfield Enterprise Park, off Lewes Road (open seven days a week, can be posted in carrier bag out of hours). Businesses generating a lot of PPE waste like this, can order collection boxes from www.reworked.com

Stamp out litter and recycle to keep Lindfield tidy

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Lindfield Parish Council is pleased to be working alongside Colin McFarlin to help keep Lindfield tidy. Colin McFarlin is a volunteer Waste Prevention Advisor with West Sussex County Council. You may also have seen his regular monthly column in Lindfield Life.

Lindfield is fortunate to have an excellent selection of coffee shops that offer takeaway drinks. We are keen for residents and visitors to support these businesses. If you do buy a takeaway coffee, please help keep the village tidy:

1) Take your waste home and recycle it. Did you know that if you put your used coffee cup in the litter bins around Lindfield, then it cannot be recycled? If you take it home, clean and dry, you can then recycle in your kerbside blue top recycling bin. The lid as well!

Are you going to create rubbish or recycle?

2) Ask the retailer if they can recycle the takeaway coffee cup once it has been used. For example, Lindfield Coffee Works are running a scheme for their customers where you can return your used coffee cup to be recycled. More information on this scheme can be found on page 14 of last month’s issue of Lindfield Life.

3) If you cannot take your waste home or return it to where you purchased it from, then please squash it before placing it in the litter bin.

Stamp out litter. This is the message we will be promoting throughout Lindfield. We will be working with volunteer groups, such as Love Lindfield (www.facebook.com/lovelindfield), to Keep Lindfield Tidy. We have also approached local businesses and look forward to working together with them on this issue.

Remember think before you throw. Waste costs whereas recycling earns. Once something goes in the rubbish bin there is a cost attached to collecting and disposing of it. Over a year, a typical household wastes 59kg of recycling by putting it in the wrong bin. Recycling saves money that could be spent on other public services. For more information see: www.thinkbeforeyouthrow.co.uk

Mid Sussex District Council are responsible for the collection of waste in Mid Sussex, including all public litter bins. Mid Sussex District Council owns the bins on Lindfield Common & Hickmans Lane playground. Lindfield Parish Council provides bins in other areas within the village. More information on waste and recycling in West Sussex Can be found at: www.westsussex.gov.uk/land-waste-and-housing/waste-and-recycling/recycling-and-waste-prevention-in-west-sussex/

If you have a question for Colin on our campaign, or would like to be involved, please email: climate@lindfieldparishcouncil.gov.uk