3:53pm Friday 22nd August 2008
By Eleanor Stride
Click here to view a video featuring TV gardening and recycling expert David Domoney explaining how shoppers at Festival Place can do thier bit for the environment by making use of the shopping centre's new recycling zone
VISITORS to Festival Place in Basingstoke can now do their bit for the environment while they do their shopping.
The shopping centre is the first in the country to feature a dedicated On-The-Go Recycling Zone, which enables shoppers to recycle their bottles, cans, paper, mobile phones and plastic while away from home.
The recycling zone is situated in Bedford Square, opposite TK Maxx, and was officially opened by TV gardening and recycling expert David Domoney, who is best known for appearing on ITV1's This Morning.
The Recycle Zone initiative is being led by Coca-Cola Enterprises, in collaboration with the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP), and plastics recycling charity Recoup.
The first On-The-Go centre at any location in the country opened at Thorpe Park theme park, in Surrey, earlier this year. Festival Place is the second and a total of 80 zones are planned to open within three years.
As well as saving rubbish from going to landfill sites, the recycling zone also makes money for charity. All money made from mobile phone recycling at Festival Place will be donated to the Alzheimer's Society.
Steven Connolly, Festival Place's centre director, said: "We're very proud to be one of the first places to take on this initiative in the UK.
"With such a high daily footfall, Festival Place has tremendous potential for recycling and we're sure our customers will be making full use of this facility. This new scheme also complements our ongoing commitment to recycling, energy-efficiency and waste management for the centre as a whole.
"The fact that we are the first shopping centre in the country to offer this service is great."
Nick Gammage, director of communications at WRAP, said: "Most recycling currently happens near home, but there is so much we can do when we're out and about.
"The new Recycling Zones are a great way to make it easy to recycle when we are away from home. This means we can recycle more things, more often."
Mr Domoney said: "It is phenomenal to think that in the UK we produce enough waste to fill the Royal Albert Hall every two hours.
"It is great that the team at Festival Place are so focused on recycling. Already the shopping centre recycles 43 per cent of all the waste produced here, and that's a great achievement.
"The more recycling stations that we have available to us where we live, work and shop, the better for the planet."
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