A CALLINGTON woman has been awarded the local Citizen of the Year Award for her contribution to advancing and expanding the local recycling project.

Three years ago, Alison Humphreys took over the project from a lady in Calstock whose garden shed had become too small for her to store items. With the help of SHARE (South Hill Association for Renewable Energy), the recycling project now focuses on collecting household items that councils don’t – with crisp packets often proving the most popular item they collect. Items are then sent to TerraCycle, a multinational waste management company, who are able to break them down and process them into pellets which can be used to make new items such as water butts, park benches and children’s toys.

Furthermore, the project is sponsored by major manufacturers such as Hovis, McVities, Walkers, KP, Colgate and many others, all of whom dictate which items can be accepted and credit points for the shipments sent to TerraCycle which can then be converted into money which is then donated to charity.

So far, the project has raised over £5,400 for charity. The main charity they support is Kicks Count, who aim to reduce the UK’s surprisingly high stillbirth rate and educate mothers about the importance of their baby’s kicks during pregnancy.

‘The project helps people to recycle more and also helps charities,’ said Alison, ‘By recycling more, we’re helping the planet and it’s great that people understand that. The pandemic gave many people time to sort their priorities and hopefully recycling is one of those priorities that we can all help with.’

Alison wanted to support the project to encourage people to recycle more and sees the opportunity to make money for charity as an added bonus. She said: ‘Many people don’t recycle as council recycling rules can be confusing, whereas some people need general guidance on how and what to recycle. People want to recycle and we just need to make it easier for them. When people start saving items for us, they become more aware of what they’re consuming.’

In addition to her recycling work, Alison has been back out speaking with local people of all ages at pre-school, brownies and scouts, colleges, lunch meetings and with climate change groups now that restrictions have lifted. However, since the pandemic, things have changed. The project used to have collecting points in shops and supermarkets but now once a month Alison takes her car and trailer loaded with labelled bins for specific items so people can meet her at different locations and drop off their items. Here she answers questions about the project and recycling in general. You can find her once a month at the car park of Kings on Pixon Lane in Tavistock, Tamar Valley AONB car park, the Callington B&M car park. Check the website for details.

Since Alison took charge, the project has grown significantly. There are now 1,800 people on her Facebook recycling page and 200 regulars that drop off and donate.

After receiving the award, Alison said: ‘This award from Callington Town Council is really appreciated and humbling. I couldn’t do this without all my volunteers, who help so much with tasks such as collecting, monitoring, weighing, boxing and recording. This project wouldn’t survive without them and all their hard work.’

To contact Alison or find out more information about the project, email [email protected], visit www.facebook.com/groups/recycling.for.charity or go to www.south-hill.co.uk/charity-recycling.