According to the latest figures from the European Aluminium Association (EAA) the recycling rate for aluminium cans in the EU has risen by 5.4% in the last two years to hit 63%.

The United Kingdom has an aluminium can recycling rate of 51%. The country that recycles the most cans is Germany with a rate of 96% by using the Green Dot Scheme which means that the manufacturers contribute to the cost of recovery and recycling. The countries that recycle the least are Romania and Bulgaria with a rate of just 34% even though they also use the Green Dot Scheme.

It is believed that waste management operators and local councils are becoming more aware of the value of aluminium cans which has led to the increase in investment in recycling and sorting techniques.

Given the current system in the UK an aluminium can recycling rate of 51% is fairly good and its very likely that when the 2009 figures are released later this year they will have increased further.

Coca-Cola UK has recently partnered with Recyclebank to offer people vouchers off their products for recycling household waste.

The Royal Boroughs of Windsor and Maidenhead will be the first to take part in the scheme from June this year. 60,000 households in these areas will get points for recycling their waste which can then be redeemed for £1 off a range of Coca-Cola products.

Citizenship Manager of Coca-Cola UK, Liz Lowe said “As well as ensuring we recycle our own waste as a business, we are committed to encouraging our consumers to recycle theirs.”

Recent Recyclebank trials in the UK have proven that by offering incentives to households more people will recycle their everyday waste. The Recyclebank pilot scheme which ran in 2009 involving 6500 households saw 70% activate their rewards account and more than 5 million points earned giving discounts at more than 100 shops, leisure centres, attractions, restaurants and charities.

Boots the popular high street chemist has recently expand their recycling site to allow users to recycle not only mobile phones but also digital cameras, SAT NAVs, printer ink cartridges, iPods and MP3 players.

Boots Recycle does not pay in cash but instead pays in Advantage Points which are added to your Boots card and can be used to buy any items in Boot’s shops.

To start recycling your old devices simply visit the Boots Recycle site and type in the model of the device you want to sell. Like any other recycling site Boots will send you a pre-paid envelope in which to return your items in. Alternatively an envelope can be picked up from any Boot’s store. Once received they will be checked over and the Advantage card points will be added to your card within 30 days.

Not only can you get some extra points for your Boots card for recycling here but also for every electronic device that is sent in £1 will be donated to charity.#

Recycle your old electronic devices at Boots Recycle here

A brand new site has recently been launched called Trade Your Games which allows users to sell their unwanted console games, consoles and Blu-Rays for cash payments. Although this has been done before on other sites, Trade Your Games is unique and the only site in the UK where users can sell games for credit to buy games off the same site just like on the high street.

The site was created as it was found that there was very few other websites that made the process of buying and selling console games easy online. As well as making the process of selling video games simple and easy, their prices are as much as 40% higher than on the high street.

Currently you can sell or trade in games from many consoles including the Playstation 3, PSP, Xbox, Nintendo Gamecube, Nintendo DS and the Nintendo Wii. TradeYourGames also have a huge range of pre-owned and new video games, Blu-Rays and console that you can buy or part exchange.

If you want to sell your old games for cash payments then it will be sent directly to your bank account, Paypal or via cheque once your items have been received and tested.

Sell or Part Exchange your Unwanted Games, Consoles and Blue-Rays at TradeYourGames here

According to the latest recycling figures to come out of one of Scotland’s biggest cities, Edinburgh it has been found one in five local residents are still putting their rubbish in the bin for it to end up at landfill.

The thing that is more worrying after many years of information campaigns and messages on recycling is that the younger generation have been found to be the worst culprits. This is extremely surprising as young people are commonly associated with an understanding of green issues.

A local council report in Edinburgh found that 28% of people aged 18 to 29 don’t recycle their waste at all. This maybe due to the fact that they feel that at that age they have much more fun things to do with their time.

Edinburgh has recently revealed plans to start kerbside pick-ups for plastic to try and help boot recycling rates. More recycling services will also start in the city in the coming years in order to help meet tough targets.

Within 15 years every local authority in the country must be recycling 70% of waste and cut the amount going to landfill by 5%. If local councils don’t hit these targets then financial penalties will be imposed which will be bad news for everyone who pays council tax.

Recycle your old mobile phones and digital cameras here.

According to a recent poll carried out by one of the UK’s biggest mobile recycling sites, Envirofone it has been found that the average household contains £110 worth of unwanted electrical gadgets including mobile phones, MP3 players, CD and DVD players, laptops, games consoles and digital cameras.

The total value of all this electrical equipment that is being stashed in people’s homes adds up to a staggering £28 billion. In light of the current economic climate if people were to sell their unwanted gadgets at recycling sites or even car boot sales they could quickly and easily earn some extra cash for themselves.

A lot of the old equipment in people’s homes will comprise of unwanted Christmas presents or items that have since been upgraded to a better model. Envirofone says that over a million tonnes of unwanted electrical items were put in the bin last year alone.

With all the recycling facilities, websites and government regulations in the UK its surprising that a third of all electrical items in people’s homes are still expected to end up at landfill. Electrical items contain both valuable and hazardous materials which should never end up at landfill.

Have you got old electrical items to sell? Recycle your old mp3 players, iPods, mobile phones, digital cameras or games consoles for cash here.

A new nine bin recycling system has been introduced by Newcastle-under-Lyme Council in order to help meet tough recycling targets. Householders in the area have been told to use the nine bins top separate plastic bottles from glass, tins and aerosols and cardboard from paper.

The new system includes a slop bucket for food waste which is later emptied into green outdoor bin to be collected, a blue box for glass, foils and aerosols, a pink bag for plastic bottles, a blue bag for paper and magazines, a green bag for cardboard, a white bag for clothing, a wheelie bin with a brown lid for garden waste and a grey wheelie bin for non recyclable materials.

The system has come under fire from local residents who say that the new system is too confusing and many have complained that there is no room in their houses to store all the extra bins and bags. Lots of residents have said that trying to deal with 9 recycling bins is just way too much.

The new 9 bin system replaces the old 5 bin system which is used around much of the UK, the aim is to boost the recycling rate from 26% in 2008 to 50% by 2015.

If the new system is found to be successful in the Newcastle-under-Lyme area then it will be rolled out across the rest of the country in the near future.

As part of an initiative marking Earth Day pupils in primary schools in England and Wales will be taught about the importance of recycling.

On the 22nd April, Healthy Planet will be giving free interactive and fun lesson plans to all primary school teachers in England and Wales. According to the charity each lesson plan contains all the resources required and contains the national curriculum goals set6 for each age group.

Pupils will learn about Earth Day in an age appropriate way including the importance of trees, finding out what a carbon footprint is and evaluating the importance of recycling.

According to the Environment Agency the UK is on track to meet its 2010 portable battery recycling target.

The 10% target for 2010 is based on battery sales of 45,000 tonnes in 2009 meaning that battery recycling schemes need to collect 4500 tonnes by the end of the year. Battery recycling schemes first quarter figures will be reported by the end of April.

Bob Mead, the Environment Agency’s Implementation Project Manager said “I have no concerns about the way things are going at the moment. We are very confident of meeting 2010′s battery recycling targets.”

This years target was always going to be fairly easy to hit but next years target may be more of a struggle. By 2012 the UKs target will be 25% and by 2016 45% of batteries need to be recycled. In order to meet these targets in future years more needs to be done to raise awareness to get people to take old batteries to collection points.

As well as buying old mobile handsets Mobile Phone Xchange also buys old and unwanted digital cameras, MP3 players and games consoles.

Even if you old gadget is broken, its still possible that you can get some money for it. It would be much better to get money for a broken Playstation or Xbox than simply throwing it in the bin, causing further damage to the environment and getting nothing.

To find out how much your old gadget is worth, simply visit the Mobile Phone Xchange website and type in the name of the device you want to sell, if they will buy it then a price will be shown on the following page.

As a reward for returning your old and unwanted gadgets to Mobile Phone Exchange you will be paid via either bank transfer, cheque or straight into your Paypal account. If payment via gift card is selected then you can receive an additional 7.5% if accepting M&S vouchers, 10% more for Argos or a huge 15% more than the cash value for Debenhams vouchers.

Start selling your old gadgets and mobile phones at Mobile Phone Xchange here