As a Borough Council, we are always looking for ways to do better for the planet, for the public purse and for the people of Cheltenham.

A large part of our council budget is spent collecting recyclable materials. We then sell on that recycling to responsible buyers which brings in additional income to fund our services.
We switched to Plan B as our new recycling materials broker in March of last year. They can give us a better price for our recycling and offer a higher social value than others in the market.

Part of the deal with Plan B is that they donate items to Cheltenham food banks and pantries based on our recycling rate as a town. Since launching in March 2023, almost 8,000 items have been donated with this initiative!

The positive impact on struggling families was immediately apparent

One of our local councillors, Izaac Tailford, recently helped unload some of these items that were being donated to Fresh Hope Pantry at St Peter’s Church and the positive impact on struggling families was immediately apparent.

Last year our recycling rate was almost 51% and we really want to encourage residents to recycle as much as possible to make that percentage even higher. The better our recycling rate, the more items Plan B will donate to our local food banks and the people that need them.

Free access to enjoy a range of activities at Leisure at Cheltenham

This is just one of a range of initiatives we are involved in to help Cheltenham’s most vulnerable residents. ‘No Child Left Behind’, which works to support children and families, is another fantastic resource, alongside our ‘Feed Cheltenham’ pass, which offers food bank users free access to enjoy a range of activities at Leisure at Cheltenham.

You can join us in going the extra mile to support residents who really need our help and to protect the planet by recycling as much as you can at the kerbside. More information can be found at cheltenham.gov.uk/recycling