MARCH 27, 2019

HAPPY DANCE UPDATE: We now have TWO carton recycling banks in Pompey. A second carton recycling bank has been installed at the Morrisons supermarket in Anchorage Park, just off Eastern Road.

FEBRUARY 22, 2019

My household has been doing a happy dance since I (Tamara) found out that Portsmouth now has a carton recycling bank. My stockpiling of cartons and monthly recycling runs to Chandlers Ford can finally cease. Many thanks to our lovely readers who wrote to us with this encouraging news!

My household has been doing a happy dance since I (Tamara) found out that Portsmouth now has a carton recycling bank. My stockpiling of cartons and monthly recycling runs to Chandlers Ford can finally cease. Many thanks to our lovely readers who wrote to us with this encouraging news!

Tim Sheerman-Chase, Portsmouth Green Party activist and #LetPompeyBreathe campaigner, recycles his cartons at the new carton recycling bank at ASDA

What cartons can be recycled

This beautiful lone ranger of a bring bank can be found at the Asda Superstore at the Bridge Shopping Centre in Fratton. Recycle your cartons (like Tetra Paks) including:

  • juice cartons
  • paper cups
  • milk cartons
  • paper coffee cups
  • soup, tomatoes and other food cartons
  • other beverage cartons
  • ( N.B. caps + lids can be left on )

Wash and squash them as the washing helps reduce contamination and squashing helps to fit loads more cartons into the recycling bank. You can even leave the caps/lids on as they will be removed in the recycling process. My foster teens think I am cray-cray cause I rinse out my rubbish for recycling but its got to be done.

By the way, Tetra Paks manufacture cartons but a bit like hoover/vacuum and google/internet search, the name seems to be synonymous with cartons.

Photo of Recycling Bank at Asda Fratton

why i am so happy about carton recycling

Previous to this installation of this new joy-of-my-heart, you would find me doing a monthly 50 mile round trip to Valley Park Community Centre Cartons Recycling Bank in Chandlers Ford with a car full of soya milk, soup and beverage cartons. My reusable drinks cup means that my disposable coffee cup use is limited, but any takeaway paper coffee cups were also stored and either taken to a Costa coffee shop or to the Valley Park bank.

Crazily, this was the nearest and easiest cartons recycling bank for me to get to. I would stockpile cartons in my conservatory and soon started collecting cartons from my car-free friends and Portsmouth Green Party members. If I’m going to drive all the way there, I may as well take a car-full and so I became the ‘Cartons and Foils’ gal who would collect black bin bags full from across Pompey. Luckily, in the two years that I have been recycling cartons at Valley Park, I only experienced a handful of wasted trips due to an overfull bank.

Please sir, can we have some More (carton recycling) please?

I have written to Dave Ashmore, the current Portsmouth City Council Cabinet Member for Environment and Community Safety, to express my delight but also to ask for more details about the roll-out of further cartons banks.

You may remember I wrote wistfully last year about the Southampton trial of 10-12 mixed plastics and carton recycling banks. I was gutted when that came to an abrupt end, as reported by the Southern Daily Echo, “because the company that provides the banks says it is having ongoing difficulties in disposing of the materials.”  and I was convinced this failed trial would mean carton recycling would take even longer to come to Portsmouth. Hence the extra-happy dance when the carton recycling bank at Asda Fratton was installed. Green wishes can come true!

A few recycling banks for tetrapaks and food/drink cartons across the city would make a huge difference as well. I don’t expect miracles – but a trial such as the one in Southampton shouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility.

365 DAYS OF SHADES OF GREEN- PART 2 Aug 2018

ACE UK is the supplier of the carton recycling banks in Asda Fratton and Valley Park Community Centre. Though I do not know which company supplied the Southampton trial carton and mixed plastics banks, I don’t believe it was ACE UK. Regardless, I asked Dave Ashmore for reassurance that we in Portsmouth will take lessons learned from the sad ending of the Southampton trial. I’ll report back when I hear back from him.

Do your bit

And finally, to ensure this cartons bank is a success and that more are installed across the city, I ask you dear reader to:

  • Use the bloomin’ carton bank regularly.
    (Yes, I know it is a pain there is currently only one for the entire city but if it is used it will show there is a need for it and hopefully more will be installed. One is better than none!)
  • Write to your local councillors to say Yay for the lone ranger and to request a carton bank near you. (Click here to find out who your three local city councillors are and their contact details.)

And do let us know in the Comments section if they reply !