You can now officially put glass in your Leeds green bin

Bottles and jars can be included in your recycling at home

All empty glass bottles and jars of any colour can now be recycled in your green bin, along with your paper, cardboard, metal and plastic.

From beer, wine, spirit and soft drink bottles, to medicine, skincare and even perfume bottles. Coffee, jam, sauce and condiment jars, and even the ‘love it or hate it’ spread jar can all go in your green recycling bin.

Here’s our top tips for recycling your glass in Leeds:

• You can leave the caps, lids and labels on – they’ll get recycled too.
• It’s easy to get started! Get a box, bag or another bin for the recycling, it’s whatever works for you. When its full, empty it into your green bin. Cardboard wine carriers are great for storing bottles and jars neatly for recycling.
• Bottles and jars only please! Other glass items like oven-proof dishes, light bulbs, window or drinking glass do not melt at the same temperature as recyclable bottles and jars, so should be put in the black bin.
• Worried about how clean your recycling has to be? It’s easy, just make sure there’s no food chunks on the jars and no more than drips in the bottles!
• Your local bottle banks will remain in place, just in case you need a little more space to recycle your glass!  

And here’s a little video from Leeds+ to tell you more

https://x.com/i/status/1819066288096030864

And the really smashing news? Glass in your green bin is 100% re-melted in Yorkshire and can be back on the shelf as a new bottle or jar within just 30 days!

Hilary Benn MP

Following the changes to constituency boundaries at the general election last week, Hilary Benn is no longer the MP for our area and as a result he has stepped down as Caring Together Patron.

Hilary was elected as MP for the Leeds South constituency and is also now the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. We want to thank Hilary for being our patron for so many years and for all his support during that time and to wish him good fortune in his new posts.

The MP for Leeds Central and Headingley, which includes Caring Together’s area is Alex Sobel and we look forward to having a good relationship with our new MP.

The new Lord Mayor of Leeds is Little London and Woodhouse councillor and Caring Together Trustee Abigail Marshall-Katung.

Abigail was officially appointed yesterday and is pictured her in her mayoral robes, and with her husband, and Lord Mayor Consort, Senator Sunday Marshall-Katung

Picture above and text below from https://news.leeds.gov.uk/news/abigail-marshall-katung-becomes-130th-lord-mayor-of-leeds

‘Councillor Abigail Marshall Katung was officially announced as the next Lord Mayor of Leeds following the council’s annual general meeting last night.

Taking over the role from Al Garthwaite, Councillor Marshall Katung becomes the city’s 130th Lord Mayor and the first person of African descent to hold the position.

Councillor Marshall Katung will be supported throughout her tenure as Lord Mayor by her husband, Nigerian Senator and Lord Mayor Consort, Senator Sunday Marshall Katung.

Councillor Marshall Katung was born in Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria, and arrived in the UK to study at the University of Leeds as a postgraduate student in the Politics & International Studies Department in 2000. 

Following the passing of her father in 1999, who she credits as a ‘profound influence’ on her life and with instilling in her an ethos of ‘education for service’, Councillor Marshall Katung resolved to honour his legacy and study in the UK.

Transitioning from student to professional life, Councillor Marshall Katung established her own business, while also embracing the joys and responsibilities of motherhood to twin sons, who are now pursuing their own university studies.

Breaking barriers, Councillor Marshall Katung became the first African to become a ward member of Leeds City Council when in 2019, she was elected to represent the Little London and Woodhouse ward in the city centre. This is one of Leeds’s most culturally diverse wards where over 82 languages are spoken. She was subsequently re-elected at the 2023 elections.

Within Leeds City Council, Councillor Marshall Katung has assumed various leadership roles These included chairing the scrutiny board for adults health and active lifestyles and the scrutiny board for infrastructure, investment and inclusive growth. She was lead member for faith and belief, chaired the hate crime strategic board and further education 14-19 years, and is a food champion.

Away from politics, Councillor Marshall Katung is an avid athlete and coach, specialising in sprinting, and serves as a governor at Leeds City College, a trustee of Age UK and Caring Together, and co-chair of the David Oluwale Memorial Association.

As is traditional, the incoming Lord Mayor has chosen a charity to champion throughout her term. Councillor Marshall Katung has chosen the Leeds Community Foundation. She chose this charity due to its wide-ranging support of small, local charities tackling critical societal inequalities such as food poverty, health inequalities, mental health, and digital inclusion, which are all causes close to her heart. 

Councillor Marshall Katung will be supported throughout her tenure as Lord Mayor by her husband, Nigerian Senator and Lord Mayor Consort, Senator Sunday Marshall Katung.

Speaking of her appointment, The Lord Mayor of Leeds Councillor Abigail Marshall Katung said: “It is with great appreciation and humility that I embrace the privilege of becoming this great city’s 130th Lord Mayor.  Since arriving in Leeds in 2000, the city quickly became my cherished second home. It was not just the city where I lived, studied, and worked, it’s where I chose to raise my children and become a public servant.

“My appointment as Lord Mayor has been widely celebrated in the city’s African community and is a shining example of the enormous contribution international students make to UK society.  As Lord Mayor of Leeds, I am committed to working tirelessly to ensure voices are heard from all areas of the city and every triumph is recognised and celebrated.” ‘

Don’t forget you need ID

Local council elections in Leeds and elections for West Yorkshire Mayor

Polling stations are open until 10pm today for you to cast your vote. To vote in person you will need to take ID.

This includes an older persons bus pass or disabled persons bus pass.

If your photo ID has expired it will still be accepted as long as the photograph is still a good likeness of you.

Acceptable forms of photo ID are:

• Passport issued by the UK, any of the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, a British Overseas Territory, an EEA state or a Commonwealth country
• Driving licence issued by the UK, any of the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or an EEA state
• Biometric immigration document
• Identity card bearing the Proof of Age Standards Scheme hologram (a PASS card)
• Ministry of Defence Form 90 (Defence Identity Card)
• Blue Badge
• National identity card issued by an EEA state
• Older Person’s Bus Pass
• Disabled Person’s Bus Pass
• Oyster 60+ Card
• Freedom Pass
• Scottish National Entitlement Card issued in Scotland
• 60 and Over Welsh Concessionary Travel Card issued in Wales
• Disabled Person’s Welsh Concessionary Travel Card issued in Wales
• Senior SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland
• Registered Blind SmartPass or Blind Person’s SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland
• War Disablement SmartPass or War Disabled SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland
• 60+ SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland
• Half Fare SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland
• Electoral Identity Card issued in Northern Ireland
• Voter Authority Certificate or a temporary Voter Authority Certificate

If you received a postal voting pack and have not managed to return it, it can be handed in at a polling station today. If you can’t do this yourself, someone else is allowed to take it for you, You/they will need to fill in a form when it is handed in – the staff at the polling station can help you with this