THE Honey Bees Day Nursery and Oaks Community Shop in Leominster have signed up to a new nationwide recycling initiative that enables the people of Leominster and surrounding areas to recycle various types of waste packaging for the first time.

The scheme, set up by recycling experts TerraCycle, allows both locations to host a public access collection box where local people can drop off certain types of waste packaging for recycling which cannot be included in the local council kerbside recycling collections and would otherwise end up in landfill.

Charity manager Margo Evans, who arranged for the collection boxes to be located at both Leominster locations, commented: “Drop-off location points are being hosted at both the Honey Bees Day Nursery and Oaks Community Shop for TerraCycle’s Ella’s Kitchen Brigade, Johnson’s Baby Wipes Packaging Brigade, Coffee Packaging Brigade, McVitie’s Biscuit Wrapper Brigade and the Tassimo Brigade.

These recycling programmes make it possible for the people of Leominster to recycle waste packaging which is normally too difficult or costly for local councils to recycle. As such, Leominster is among the first communities in the UK to offer recycling drop-off points for these materials which would otherwise end up in landfill.

“Local people can contribute by dropping off their waste baby food pouches, baby wipes packaging, biscuit wrappers, coffee refill bags, coffee bean bags, single serving coffee sachets, plastic coffee jar lids and single serve coffee sachets of any brand.

Plus Tassimo TDISC’s and outer flow wrap packaging, to either of the two collection boxes situated at the Honey Bees Day Nursery in Coningsby Children’s Centre on Coningsby Road from 8.30am to 5.30pm Monday to Friday or the Oaks Community Shop on Leominster High Street from 9.30am to 3pm Monday to Saturday (except Wednesday which is 9.30am to noon.

As well as supporting the local environment, two TerraCycle points are earned for the weight of each unit of waste that is returned, with each point being redeemable for a one penny contribution to any chosen school, charity or non-profit organisation.

All funds raised by collections at both Leominster drop-off locations will go to local charity Oaks Ltd which will be used for the development of the charity.

This includes the OAKS nursery provisions at Honey Bees Day Nursery, Daisy Chain Pre-school and Wise Owls Nursery, as well as the OAKS holiday club and the support the charity offers families who have children with Special Educational Needs.