DON T let Devon go to waste, the campaign that encourages Devon s residents to reduce, reuse and recycle is supporting this year s Recycle Week which runs from June 22 to 28.

DON'T let Devon go to waste, the campaign that encourages Devon's residents to reduce, reuse and recycle is supporting this year's Recycle Week which runs from June 22 to 28.

This year's theme is 'let's waste less' and organizers, Recycle Now, hope that it will persuade everyone to think about new ways of reducing waste or of becoming more proficient in how we recycle.

Household waste recycling in Devon is constantly improving with 52% of waste composted and recycled in 2008/09 compared with 49% the previous year. 10 years ago, in 1998/99, the rate for Devon was just 22%. Devon is well on the way to achieving its target of 60% recycling and composting by 2019/2020, but to do that more needs to be done.

Many of us take our bottles to the bottle bank, but quite often we could take old clothes to the clothes bank at the same time. Trips to the recycling centre could include taking a box of old batteries or old electrical equipment to the recycling areas instead of putting them in the bin and it's fairly easy to reuse a carrier bag or even better, carry a reusable bag.

Devon's Recycling Centres now recycle an average of 73% of the materials brought in, an increase of 3% from last year. With the addition of new materials for recycling such as vegetable oil, plaster board and flat glass such as windowpanes, one journey to your local centre can make a huge difference to the amount of waste that is sent to landfill.

Nationally, recycling is having an impact. In the past 5 years alone we have saved 30 million tones of CO2 - equivalent to taking a third of our cars off the road for a year. Household waste growth in Devon has decreased from +0.1% in 2007/08 to -0.5% in 2008/09.

Information on what can be recycled as well as plenty of information on waste reduction, tips for reusing and composting in Devon can be found at the new updated Don't let Devon go to waste website www.recycledevon.org.

From today you can also register a personal pledge to waste less by SMS text to 60030 or at www.recycledevon.org. On signing up to one of a whole range of pledges - everything from recycling old electricals to completely going waste free for a day - pledgers will receive details about the positive effect they will have on the environment.

Don't let Devon go to waste will be on tour this summer visiting agricultural shows and events across the county with a Love Food Hate Waste interactive roadshow. Visitors making a pledge to reduce their food waste will receive a free spaghetti measurer and a copy of 'Eat Well Waste Less' by Devon author Bish Muir. Bish shows that anyone can reduce their food waste simply through keeping a few stand bys in the store cupboard and using up leftovers.

For more information visit www.recycledevon.org or call 0845 250 2477. For recipe ideas and further tips on how to reduce food waste you can also log on to the website and register to receive a free recipe book called 'Eat Well, Waste Less'.