This September, Torbay Council is proudly supporting the #Pledge4Plastics campaign, which aims to get recycling back on the household agenda.

The campaign, which launches this week (8 September), is brought to you by Pledge 4 Plastics, a new government backed initiative created to significantly increase the collection of plastic packaging for recycling.

Knowing that five billion plastic bottles were sent to UK landfill sites last year, the initiative has joined forces with interior designer Abigail Ahern to launch #Pledge4Plastics, a campaign that is urging people to make a promise to recycle just one extra plastic bottle per household each week.

To highlight the many ways plastic can be given a new life if recycled correctly, Abigail Ahern, who has a collection at a leading high street department store and recently starred in Channel 4's Get Your House in Order, has channelled her distinct quirky style to design her first ever bespoke phone cover, which is made from 80 percent recycled plastic bottles.

One thousand limited edition phone covers[1] have been designed exclusively for #Pledge4Plastics, to reward those who register their support online throughout September at pledge4plastics.co.uk or tweet @pledge4plastics.

Torbay Council's Executive Lead for Strategic Planning, Housing and Energy, Councillor David Thomas, said: “It's important to remember that #Pledge4Plastics is not just about recycling water and drinks bottles, it includes all types of plastic bottles, from every room in the house, ranging from shampoo bottles and shower gels to domestic bleach bottles and cooking oil. Not forgetting to recycle food pots, tubs and trays (like yoghurt pots, margarine tubs and lasagne trays) but, no black plastic thank you!.

“Pledge4Plastics is part of Torbay Council’s commitment to improve our recycling rates to not only save the environment but save us money as a council as well, the benefits of which are passed on to the local community, because the more we save, the more we are able to pass on to residents via smaller council tax increases.”

For more information, please visit www.torbay.gov.uk/recycling

More information about the national campaign is available online at Pledge4Plastics.co.uk

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For more information contact: National Plastics Recycling Initiative Press Office, NPRI@frankpr.it, 0207 663 6999

Notes to editors:

About The National Plastics Recycling Initiative:

Established in 2014, the National Plastics Recycling Initiative is led by Recoup and supported by partners including, Coca Cola Enterprises, Marks & Spencer, Unilever, Nestle Waters, Nestle UK, RPC, Veolia Environmental Services, Closed Loop Recycling, Valpak, Kent Resource Partnership, Surrey County Council, PlasticsEurope, WRAP and DEFRA. The steering group has been formed to tackle the serious issue of plastic packaging recycling in the UK and help to meet the challenging targets set by the UK government.

Stuart Foster, CEO of Recoup, said: "The #Pledge4Plastics campaign aims to encourage people to think and act differently and rewards them for doing so. We want to highlight how great things can come from recycling unwanted plastic. The fantastic phone cover that Abigail Ahern has designed for the campaign is made with recycled plastic and provides just one example of what can become of recycled bottles."

[1] Available for iPhone 5C/S and Samsung S5

This September, Torbay Council is proudly supporting the #Pledge4Plastics campaign, which aims to get recycling back on the household agenda.