Aug 24 2007
Recycle Now, the national recycling campaign for England, is issuing a reminder urging all holidaymakers to recycle their used holiday brochures instead of binning them and sending them to landfill.
Last year 45 million holidays abroad where taken from the UK and considering that for every holiday sold four brochures are produced, a staggering total of around 180 million brochures are being distributed each year – which, if placed end to end would stretch from London to Sydney three times!
One of the busiest times of the year when consumers pick up their new holiday brochures is August and September to start looking for next year’s holiday. This is also the time when they start thinking of disposing of last year’s brochures now that the summer is nearly over. With this in mind, Recycle Now has teamed up with the UK’s leading independent charity for sustainable tourism and travel, The Travel Foundation, to encourage consumers to remember to recycle their old holiday brochures.
Sue Hurdle, Chief Executive of The Travel Foundation said:"
The Travel Foundation is delighted to support Recycle Now in its call to holidaymakers to recycle those old holiday brochures rather than binning them. It's another link in the chain of reducing the negative impact of travel and if we all recycle, it will make a big difference."
Many tour operators are becoming more aware of their environmental responsibilities and are recycling their old brochures.
Jane Ashton, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility at First Choice said:
"At First Choice we recycle our excess brochures within the business, and are working on cutting down the paper we use. We very much encourage our customers to recycle their holiday brochures at home - everything we can do together to recycle paper helps the environment."
Top ‘green’ solutions for old holiday brochures
Recycle Now has provided some simple tips to help holidaymakers find the best ‘green’ solutions for dealing with their old holiday brochures:
- When finished with them put the brochures in your kerbside recycling collection or take them to your local recycling centre;
- Browse and book your holiday online to save paper;
- Pass your used brochures to family, friends or neighbours so they can use them instead of getting new ones;
- Contact local playschools to see if they would be interested in taking the magazines to use for creative projects.
Amanda Barry Hirst, Head of Public Relations at Recycle Now said:
“People often take numerous brochures from their travel agents to find their ideal holiday, but many don’t know what to do with them once they are out of date. It’s now easier than ever to book online but if you do need to pick up a brochure then think how it can be recycled or reused once finished. The simplest is for holidaymakers to take advantage of their easy and convenient doorstep recycling service or drop them off at their nearest recycling centre. But it is also worth considering alternatives such as passing them on or using them for children’s creative projects.”