Hampshire is already recycling more than a quarter of household and garden waste but we can all help make this much higher, in fact we can double our efforts. That‘‘s the message of the Recycle for Hampshire campaign officially launched recently in Winchester.

Project Integra, the partnership of all local authorities in Hampshire and waste contractor Onyx Hampshire, has been awarded £5 million by the Government to improve the recycling facilities throughout the county. The Recycle for Hampshire campaign is supported by three quarters of a million pounds of further funding from the UK‘‘s Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP).

Councillor Roland Dibbs, Chairman of the Project Integra Management Board said "If we are to reach our target, we will be recycling or composting up to half a million tonnes of rubbish every year. To do this, we must have the support of the people who live in Hampshire. Many residents are keen recyclers already, and now that most households have access to a recycling collection service, we need to convince more people to make recycling part of their everyday behaviour and recycle more, more often."

Hampshire-born Olympic athlete and television presenter Roger Black MBE will be putting the weight of his celebrity status behind the campaign. Roger, who is also a successful motivational speaker, is a passionate advocate of green living and is keen to spread the message that recycling is good for Hampshire. Commenting on the campaign, he said: "Project Integra has an ambitious but entirely achievable goal - to almost double the current rate of recycling in Hampshire. Simply sending more and more rubbish to landfill is just not an option anymore. We know that Hampshire‘‘s residents want to do all they can to protect the unique habitat of this diverse county and by doing their bit to recycle more household waste, they can help immensely."

The Recycle for Hampshire campaign also aims to make recycling part of everyday life for everyone. "People who already recycle will be encouraged and reassured that their efforts are worthwhile, and those who do not currently recycle will be able to see it as easy and not just something that other people do," added Roger.

The multi-media campaign is based on extensive research to identify the attitudes and behaviours of different groups of people according to their lifestyles. Rolling out across the country from April, it will include press advertising; a campaign website; bus advertising; a programme of activities with schools; information packs for new householders; feature articles in local authority publications; advertorials and public relations. In addition, approximately 60,000 households will also be visited by a team of Recycling Advisors to give residents the opportunity to find out more about recycling face-to-face.

The campaign does not only focus on residents. Each of the 14 Councils in Hampshire involved with recycling have been challenged to make sure they are doing everything they reasonably can to make recycling straightforward and a positive experience. Cllr Dibbs said " By and large our Councils do a good job but we can always find ways to improve information and service to households. Part of this campaign is to show that we are passionate about recycling and we want Hampshire to be world class".

As well as presentations from Hampshire County Council, Project Integra and a talk from Roger Black, the launch included performances from ‘‘junk‘‘ band Weapons of Sound, whose instruments are made from recycled materials. Weapons of Sound performed with schoolchildren from Potley Hill Primary School in Yateley, with whom they had conducted a workshop earlier in the day. Potley Hill was the first school to sign up to the new County Council Schools‘‘ Waste Contract to enable recycling of w