On 20th April, 80 volunteers dismantled 8000 disposable BBQs in under 4 hours!
The event was led by Litter Free Dorset and Southern Co-op and was hosted by W&S Waste Management Ltd at their recycling centre in Poole. (See photos on Litter Free Dorset's Facebook page.)
It followed on from the commitment by Southern Co-op Ltd to permanently remove disposable BBQs from sale in their shops. They had 8000 units left in storage and the event involved dismantling the BBQs into their component parts. Each component was then dealt with as follows:
◦ Plastic sleeve – direct to W&S recycling
◦ Paper liner – direct to W&S recycling
◦ Metal grill sheet – W&S will transport to scrap metal @ W&S Canford Heath site
◦ Charcoal Briquettes – will be transported to Swanage Railway to use in their steam trains
◦ Foil trays – W&S will transport to scrap metal at their W&S Canford Heath site
◦ Cardboard outer tray – direct to W&S recycling
Other retailers who have already committed to permanently removing disposable BBQs from sale include Waitrose, M&S, Aldi.
Please note: Southern Co-op is a regional, independent co-operative operating more than 300 food, funeral and Starbucks coffee branches across the south of England and is a different retailer to the Co-op which, we know, is still selling disposable barbecues.
Litter Free Dorset will again be running their Campaign, this summer, to ban the sale of disposable barbecues. You can do your bit by checking your local stores and letting Llitter Free Dorset know of any that are still selling them (with pictures, if possible). Of course, you can also talk to the store manager or contact their Head Office about why they are still selling such unsustainable and potentially extremely damaging products.