Warwickshire Recycling Champion of the Year 2018 Crowned at Exciting Live Final

Warwickshire's Recycling Champion of the Year 2018 was crowned at an exciting live final that took place at Warwick's Market Hall Museum on Wednesday 7 March.  

Catherine Haynes from Stratford District was named champion after coming first place in the final round of the competition. Five finalists, from each district and borough in the county, took part in a live quiz to test their knowledge of local recycling processes in Warwickshire.  

Catherine was rewarded with the top prize of a two-night luxury staycation at the Coombe Abbey Hotel, courtesy of Shakespeare's England.  

She said: "Taking part in Slim Your Bin is such a stimulating challenge to waste less and recycle more, it is the perfect opportunity to raise awareness of recycling and how vital it is for a sustainable world.  It recognises that every single one of us can easily make a difference to the environment."   

Four runners-up also received prizes, and were able to choose from a range of tickets to local tourist attractions, including the British Motor Museum, brewery tour vouchers from Purity Beer and a guided visit to Stratford Butterfly Museum. All staycation prizes have been kindly donated by members of Shakespeare's England. All finalists also received a choice of water butt or compost converter plus a year's supply of compostable food caddy liners.

Councillor Jeff Clarke, Portfolio Holder for Transport and Environment at Warwickshire County Council announced the winners and presented them with their prizes. He said: "It is fantastic to see we have so many enthusiastic local recycling champions in Warwickshire. It's important for us to acknowledge the achievements of our residents and raise the profile of recycling in Warwickshire. The finalists did incredibly well and should all be proud of what they've achieved.  

"I look forward to seeing how the Warwickshire Recycling Champion of the Year contest and the Slim Your Bin campaign will continue to spread enthusiasm for recycling and raise awareness of its importance in our local communities."  

Councillor Mike Brain, Community and Technical Services Portfolio at Stratford-on-Avon District Council said: "Stratford District is the top recycling council in Warwickshire and is in the top ten of Councils in England for recycling.  So to now include in these achievements the recycling champion for Warwickshire in our District seems so apt!  The service we provide is designed to make recycling easy and our residents have responded to that by ensuring they recycle as much as possible as well as limiting the amount of other waste that is produced for landfill."  

The Warwickshire Recycling Champion of the Year contest is a joint initiative with Warwickshire County Council and Local Green Points to recognise and reward local recycling champions in each of Warwickshire's five districts and boroughs.  

The Slim Your Bin campaign will continue to reward residents of Warwickshire for their recycling efforts, with £20 vouchers every month for top performing individuals and £650 donated to the chosen charity of the top performing community every 12 months.   It's free to sign up to the Slim Your Bin campaign and open to all residents in Warwickshire's five districts and boroughs. To sign up visit www.warwickshire.slim-your-bin.com.