Kate Binslet and Jar Jar Clinks are re3’s new wheeled ambassadors to encourage and remind us all to recycle more glass, bottles and jars.

The two new glass recycling vehicles were named thanks to a social media competition run on re3social media channels, inviting fun names from the public. Chris Bowry, from Tilehurst and Nathan Long from Wokingham who submitted the winning names have been invited to attend the naming ceremony which now display the names “Kate Binslet” and “Jar Jar Clinks” along with eye-catching livery.

These new vehicles are more efficient than the old models, and are fitted with the latest weighing equipment so that re3 can closely monitor and work out the right frequency to empty bottle banks.

Each glass recycling vehicle empties an average of 150 bottle banks, can carry up to 12 tonnes of material and regularly collects some 30 tonnes of glass bottles and jars every day – that’s the equivalent of approximately 60,000 wine bottles.

It takes a million years for a single glass bottle to decompose in the environment. This is why it is so crucial to recycle glass. To make it easier to do this, bottle banks are put near shops, parks and leisure centres so people can deposit all their jars and glass bottles while running other errands.

It is very important that glass isn’t put in your black kerbside recycling boxes or bins. This is because glass can cause significant damage to re3’s material recycling machinery. We understand that some residents perceive bottle banks as a less convenient way of recycling glass, however they do have great benefits. Glass collected at the bottle banks is of a very high quality with very occasional contamination and because all glass bottles and jars are colour separated they can be recycled into much more valuable products instead of being mainly used as aggregates in highway construction. Bottle banks collection has also environmental benefits as vehicles travel far less than for kerbside collection.