Sheena Brockie writes the The Good Jersey Life blog and this year has been working towards a zero waste lifestyle and taking on some environmental campaigns, one of which was #plasticfreejuly.
She contacted both Guernsey and Jersey's States about getting Brita water filters recycled, after discovering they could be.
'This has a huge environmental impact in both islands – each water filter is 100% recyclable – and one water filter is the equivalent of 100 one litre water bottles,' she said.
On her blog, Ms Brockie explains that she had discovered that the white outside containers are made from plastic, which is pre-cleaned and then ground down, with the resulting granules supplied back to the plastics industry to be recycled into other types of plastic products. Inside the white cartridge are two mixed components – activated carbon and ion exchangers.
These are separated and then the activated carbon is returned to the manufacturer, where it gets re-activated and is used in waste water treatment centres.
The ion exchangers are re-processed by Brita at its plant, putting them through a chemical and thermal purification process, which is then tested to ensure the resulting resin fully meets the requirements before being used again in water filters.
Guernsey's recycling officer, Tina Norman-Ross, said she was thrilled to put the plan into action.
The Brita filter recycling box is available at Longue Hougue, which is open 7.30am to 4pm on weekdays and 8am to 5pm on weekends and bank holidays.
