‘Shop and drop’ to recycle and raise funds for charity

Visitors to Exeter city centre can now recycle plastic bottle tops and tubs at a brand-new drop-off point in Princesshay Shopping Centre and help contribute to a more circular economy.

Leading south west recycling and waste management firm, DCW, has partnered with the popular shopping destination to run its Recycle & Raise scheme all year round. The plastic recycling scheme which asks the public to donate plastic tubs and bottle tops to raise funds for Dartmoor Zoo and mental health charity Mind, was previously operated by DCW only over the festive period.

Now, shoppers can take their plastic tubs and bottle tops throughout the year to the new Recycle & Raise drop-off point stationed outside Princesshay’s Bee Hive Information Centre, The Hive. Located in Bampfylde Lane between Superdry and Chandos Deli, donations can be placed in the Recycle & Raise collection bin 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  

The most popular items donated are plastic confectionary tubs, but keen recyclers can also donate ice cream, biscuit and cracker tubs, milk bottle tops and takeaway containers. The materials with a number five or PP symbol on the container that are donated to Recycle & Raise will be sent to the DCW Polymers recycling plant in Exeter where they will be shredded into granules. The granules will then be used in manufacturing DCW’s recycled plastic furniture range, which will raise approximately 8p per tub recycled for Dartmoor Zoo and Mind.

Trevor Gomm, Operations Manager at Princesshay, said: “We are really pleased to partner with DCW on the Recycle and Raise project in the Centre.”

Last year, the campaign raised over £4,000 for Dartmoor Zoo and Mind. Since its launch in 2019, Recycle & Raise has raised over £5,200 for charity with DCW collecting the equivalent of 65,000 tubs.

DCW Business Support Manager, Emily Almond, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Princesshay Shopping Centre on board as our latest Recycle & Raise partner. With 13.4 million people visiting Princesshay every year, we hope the new drop-off point will be inundated with donations, ensuring that we can raise vital funds for charity all year round and not just over the festive period.  

“As a Zero to Landfill waste management company with a passion for creating a more sustainable environment, we like to partner with like-minded businesses. It feels like a natural fit for us to collect Recycle & Raise donations from The Hive which was built in 2012 as part of Princesshay’s ongoing commitment to sustainability. So, please bring your clean, empty tubs and tops with you next time you head into the city centre and help us Recycle plastic and Raise money for charity.”

Donations can also be taken to temporary Recycle and Raise drop-off locations across Devon until Monday 28th February 2022. Visit www.dcw.co.uk/about/recycle-raise to locate your nearest drop-off point.