Third ‘Liver’ bird highlights the important of recycling

Liverpool’s famous Liver Birds have been joined by a third bird with an important message for local residents – to help improve recycling rates across the city from today. 

Made from recyclable items, the giant sculpture was created to raise awareness about what should be placed in Liverpool’s blue recycling bins, as part of Recycle Week. 

Currently, Liverpool is ranked as the second worst in the country for its recycling, with only 17.9% of household waste being reused, composted or recycled, compared to the national average of 42%. 

A recent survey conducted by the council showed that around one in five people still dispose of recyclable items – such as cardboard, cans, paper, glass or plastic bottles, – in their purple waste bins, highlighting a need for improving public awareness of recycling. 

However, more than two-thirds (69%) of those taking part said recycling is important to them, with 75% of respondents saying they wanted more information on how to improve.  

Now, Liverpool City Council has launched a campaign – We’re Talking Bins – to highlight exactly which items should be placed in the blue bin, bringing the iconic purple bin and its blue counterpart to life. 

Kicking off the six-month initiative, the new ‘Liver Bird’ is compiled of a mix of recyclable items, including: cans, glass bottles, cardboard boxes, egg cartons and plastic drinks bottles.  

It is hoped that the sculpture, designed and built by Liverpool-based artist Faith Bebbington, will help educate residents on how they can contribute to improving the city’s recycling ranking. Plans are being explored to keep the artwork on display for the public and used for educational purposes with schools.  

Councillor Laura Robertson-Collins, Cabinet Member for Communities, Neighbourhoods and Streetscene, said:

“There are several reasons for our poor recycling rates here in Liverpool, some of which we, as residents, can take control of. 

“For instance, we are seeing items go in the purple, general waste bin that could – and should – be going in the blue bin.  

“From our research, there’s a very clear desire to recycle more and our goal is to enhance local people’s knowledge to empower them to make important changes.” 

Taking place across the country this week, Recycle Week 2025 focuses on the message: Rescue Me! Recycle, with the aim of encouraging the public to recycle more of the right items.  

As part of Liverpool’s journey to improve recycling, phase one of food waste collections will be introduced to approximately 15,000 households, offering the opportunity to put unwanted food and leftovers to good use. 

From this week, select households across Liverpool will begin receiving a new, free weekly food waste collection service, as part of a phased roll-out to the entire city. The new collections are an enhancement to the current collection service and will take place weekly. 

It means that all unwanted and leftover food, including teabags, fish and meat bones, and eggshells, can be recycled into new products while reducing the amount of carbon dioxide that is released into the atmosphere. 

Once collected, the food will be taken away to be recycled via a process called anaerobic digestion, which involves microorganisms breaking down the waste in an enclosed space. As they do so, the waste releases methane gas, which is collected and converted into a biogas that can be used to generate electricity, heat, or transport fuels. 

Residents in the first phase have been provided with a small indoor bin, known as a caddy, an outdoor caddy and a roll of liners. 

The small caddy is designed to live in a kitchen, either inside a cupboard or on a worktop, and will collect food scraps and leftovers. Once full, the liner can be tied up and thrown straight into the outdoor caddy. This will then be collected each week. 

This first phase will enable the Council to gain an early understanding of the amount of food waste being recycled before the service becomes mandatory across the country next April. 

Councillor Liam Robinson, Leader of Liverpool City Council, said:

“Although the purple bin waste we collect gets taken away to be turned into energy, this still has an impact on the environment. 

“The new food waste collection service will enable us to divert over 30% of rubbish from our household bins to be recycled, forming an integral part of our journey to better recycling. 

“We also plan to widen the types of items that can be placed in Liverpool’s blue bins and we are looking forward to announcing more on this in the coming months.” 

Find more information about recycling in Liverpool and food waste collections here.

Find all the latest Liverpool news here.

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