Women’s Institute welcome to visit the recycling center

This week North Devon Council welcomed the Tawstock Parish Women’s Institute to its recycling centre.

The group of eight women and partners were taken on a tour of the facilities at Brynsworthy Environment Center near Barnstaple to find out what happens to North Devon’s waste.

The Women’s Institute was the second group to be welcomed at the center since October 2022, where the council reopened the center for group and school visits since the Covid-19 pandemic.

North Devon Council’s Lead Member for Environment, Councilor Netti Pearson, said: “The visit was a great opportunity for the local group to speak to our waste and recycling officers and find out what happens to their recycling after it has been collected. The group was great and we would welcome them back anytime.”

President of Tawstock Parish Women’s Institute, Sue Bridge, said: “We would like to thank the staff at Brynsworthy for the warm welcome at the recycling centre. It was a very interesting and informative visit.

“The recycling process was explained to us in great detail which raised many questions which were answered with obvious confidence in the process.

“We were impressed to learn that all our recyclable waste is separated and in most cases sold to processors, ensuring that these valuable materials do not go to waste. It was encouraging to learn that nothing ends up in landfill, even our waste from black bag It is sorted to some extent and the rest is sent to incineration to produce energy. The sale of some of these materials is used to offset costs.

“Glass seems to have little value, but it is still crushed and used in processes such as construction.

“It was disappointing to hear how much food is still being wasted in North Devon. However, even this material is being fed into plants to make methane, a heating gas.

“Most of us already considered ourselves experienced recyclers, but we all learned more about sorting our waste to ensure each type of material is in the right state where possible.”

Tawstock Parish Women’s Institute has been in existence for 43 years. They meet on the second Wednesday of the month, usually with an interesting speaker, and host coffee mornings, craft activities and trips. Individuals interested in joining the group are encouraged to email Sue at bridgessusan41@gmail.com.

You can find full information about which items belong in your bin, box or bag online.

The council also has an AZ recycling page to help residents find the right container for specific items.

To request a visit, groups and schools are asked to contact the Council’s Waste and Recycling team via email – wasteandrecyclingservices@northdevon.gov.uk