Girl, 10, becomes advocate for better recycling

A 10-year-old girl has become a "bin-fluencer", after learning about the importance of recycling.

Amelia wrote a letter to Swindon Borough Council to ask about why plastic bags, wrapping and films cannot be recycled on the kerbside.

In response, the council invited her and her family to Swindon's recycling centre - and named Amelia a "bin-fluencer" for spreading the word about the importance of recycling.

"I find it quite cool how I started off just writing a letter and the word bin-fluencer got spread quite quickly," Amelia said.

Amelia said her first impression of the recycling centre was that she did not expect there to be "so much".

"I think about whether I should put stuff in the bin or recycle more now," she added.

"I think if people came here they'd realise all the things we can recycle."

Katie, Amelia's mum, said she is "really proud" of her.

"It's nice to know she cares a lot about the environment," Katie said. "I got told off a few times, I'll admit that."

Councillor Chris Watts, cabinet member for the environment and transport at Swindon Borough Council, said: "It's a bit of a challenge for us, when we do a survey and find out about half of what's in black bins can be recycled.

"It was a very important message Amelia brought up, which is about soft plastics which we don't want to see in our recycling."

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