Crisp and snack packets, Pringles tubes and bread bags - these are just some of the "hard to recycle" items that can now be dropped off at a village hall - to help earn cash for charity. 

Wycombe resident Jo Sharp has signed up to various recycling programmes, including the Cathedral City Cheese Packaging Recycling Programme, the pladis (the brand behind McVitie’s and Jacob’s) Biscuits and Snacks Recycling Programme and the Pringles Tubes Recycling Programme, among others, which are offered by TerraCycle. 

This has enabled Jo to set up a public drop-off point at Lacey Green Village Hall where locals can drop off waste including crisp and snack packets, Pringles tubes, personal care and beauty products, oral care products and packaging, Ferrero Rocher wrappers, Hasbro toys and games, bread bags and more to be sent in for recycling. 

None of these materials can be included in local kerbside recycling collections so traditionally have ended up in landfill or been incinerated.

Jo, who set up and manages the public drop-off location, said: “I was looking for a way to reduce the amount of waste I was sending to landfill when I found these great free programmes run by TerraCycle to recycle a whole host of waste which the local council recycling collections can’t accept.

"Anyone can sign up and collect waste at home for recycling. I decided to go one step further by setting up a public access drop off location in the village hall so that anyone can come and drop off their non-recyclable waste."

The collected items Jo sends into TerraCycle is then recycled by shredding, cleaning and turning into a pellet format which can then be used by manufacturers to create new generic plastic products such as outdoor furniture, lumber and construction applications, reducing the need to extract new resources from the planet.

For each unit of waste collected, Jo also receives TerraCycle points that can be redeemed as a monetary donation to the charities of her choice.

Jo has chosen to raise money for several local charities including St John's Primary School, Wycombe Youth Action, Young Carers Bucks, Lighthouse Central and more.

She added: “So far the High Wycombe community have helped us to raise more than £2,600 for various local charities, most of which support young people in the area.

"This initiative is a great way to help both the environment and local people, and so we encourage everyone in High Wycombe to take their rubbish to the drop-off point at Lacey Green Village Hall, which is open 24/7, and to help us spread awareness locally by telling their friends, families and colleagues.”

To find out more about Jo’s collection points and to see whether she has a bin near you, head to her Facebook page: www.facebook.com/JosRecyclingHW