OXFORD, UK – New recycling bins will soon hit the streets in Oxford, some being dressed in competition-winning artwork, that’s set to reduce the number of single use coffee cups going to landfill or incineration.
Oxford City Council and ODS ran a county-wide competition, with a brief to design something that inspires others to care for their environment. From 24 February, these coffee cup recycling bins will be installed in three of Oxford’s busiest areas – Headington, Summertown and the city centre.
Alongside the public competition, Oxford City Council also commissioned professional artists whose work will be displayed on the some of the coffee cup recycling bins. The public competition, as well as the call out for professional work, closed on 6 January 2020. The judging has taken place and winners will be announced before the official launch in late February.
The design project aims to:
- make people notice the bins so that more coffee cups are recycled in the city
- inspire everyone to take positive action to help combat climate change and minimise their personal impact on the environment
- create pride in Oxford
- demonstrate Oxford’s commitment to responding to the climate emergency.
“I want to thank all of those who took part in the competition. There were some wonderful entries that clearly showed the contributors’ commitment to and passion for the environment. I’m confident that the designs we’ve chosen will have an impact on passers-by and encourage them to reduce, re-use, recycle and consider their overall impact on the environment.
“Oxford has a successful track record when it comes to recycling rates but we never rest on our laurels – we want to encourage even more people to reduce, re-use and recycle their waste. This project gives us the opportunity to encourage more people to use re-usable cups and recycle their single-use coffee cups. Once these new eye-catching bins are in place, it will help to inspire people to take positive action against the climate emergency.”
Tom Hayes, Cabinet Member for Zero Carbon Oxford and one of the competition judging panel.
“I want to thank everyone who took part in our competition. We’ve had some fantastic entries that will make people think about their impact on the environment.
“According to government estimates, around 2.5 billion coffee cups are thrown into landfill or incinerated every single year in the UK. We’re really excited to have the opportunity to help to reverse this trend.
“Our priority throughout this project is waste reduction and re-use. It’s always better to have a re-usable coffee cup than recycling a single use one. But we understand that isn’t always possible, so we’re introducing these new bins. We hope that this project will inspire Oxford residents to reduce, re-use and recycle more of their waste than ever before.”
Bill Byfield, Oxford Direct Services’ Recycling Project Officer, is leading the coffee cup recycling bin project.
