A school is turning trash into treasure thanks to a recycling scheme. For each bag of rubbish Langafel C of E Primary in Longfield collects, it receives cash from a firm called TerraCycle and puts it towards its Thrive Approach programme, which supports the mental and social wellbeing of pupils.

Pringles has expanded its partnership with TerraCycle in order to create 500 new collection points for its tubes. By providing more public drop-off locations, and with the continuation of ACE-UK Bring Banks taking containers with metal ends, the aim is for consumers to be able to recycle Pringles packaging in up to 85 per cent of council areas across the UK.

Julien Tremblin, general manager, TerraCycle Europe said: “We are thrilled that Pringles have made the decision to expand the number of drop-off locations available to consumers. This programme has proved very successful and it is great to see a brand taking the issue of waste seriously and offering a viable solution to their shoppers.”

Brits alone create almost half a tonne of rubbish each year – but there are easy ways to join the stars and save our planet Lots of plastics are labelled as “not yet recyclable”. Truth is, most things can be recycled, just not in your local council pick-up. Soft plastic such as grocery bags, bread bags and crisp packets can be dropped off at larger Tesco stores, while Boots are encouraging people to bring in their beauty and dental products for recycling. Check out TerraCycle, a scheme set up to recycle those “non-recyclables”, such as cheese packets, Pringles tubes and razors.

Tips and advice for shedding those plastic pounds this World Oceans Day What’s left is the hard-to-recycle stuff. Terracycle is a godsend for the guilty. I could fill this entire screen by listing all the awkward plastics that Terracycle recycles - around 50 in total, many of them featuring in my own eco crimes list: biscuit/cake/crisp wrappers, contact lens packaging, toys, food pouches, toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes, cosmetics, pens, disposable gloves, coffee pods, Pringles packets

Plastic pollution, waste reduction and the importance of protecting the environment are big topics at the moment and lots of us have been making a more conscious effort to recycle the items we use.

Tubes for crisps are made of mixed materials and so these can't be recycled without being separated first, which can be tricky. Crisp packets also can't be recycled at home.

However, a company called Terracycle recycles crisp packets into plastic pellets to make into new products. If you do have crisp packets, you can save them up and take them to your nearest drop off point.

A local health store owner is working to improve his environment while raising funds for the Wexford Women's Refuge at the same time. Patrick Meehan, who co-owns the Natural Health Store on North Main Street, is encouraging people to recycle crisp packets and Pringles cans by dropping them off outside his shop. Neither crisp packets nor Pringles cans are suitable for local kerbside recycling collection and so traditionally end up in landfill or incinerators. Patrick explains how the idea came to him and how those who wish to take part can do so: 'I was looking for a way to reduce the amount of waste packaging the community produces, and I found these great free programmes run by TerraCycle to recycle a whole host of waste which the local council recycling collections can't accept.

The system has undeniably proved popular with businesses and consumers alike. In recent months, TerraCycle has launched partnerships using this model with Mars Petcare, Colgate Palmolive, Kelloggand Acuvue targeting pet food packaging, oral healthcare products, Pringles cans and contact lenses respectively. Additionally, consumers sent more than 500,000 used crisp and snack packets to TerraCycle through its partnership with Walkers during its first three months of operation.