This year is the tenth anniversary of Recycle week, which runs from Monday 17^th June to Sunday 23^rd June. North West Leicestershire District Council (NWLDC) is encouraging residents to remember to recycle wherever they are, whether at home, at work or out and about. The great news is, the recycling rate for NWLDC now stands at over 46%.

We will be running roadshows during the week to offer advice, recycling containers and answer any questions you can throw at us about recycling at home and away. The Waste Services team will be at:

• Castle Donington Co-op 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday 18^th June
• Coalville Morrisons 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday 19^th June
• Ashby Town Centre 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. on Thursday 20^th June
• Ibstock Co-op on 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Friday 21^st June

Families took a golden opportunity to cycle with an Olympic medallist last week. Dani King, who won gold at the London 2012 Olympics in the ladies cycle team pursuit, was at Stephenson College, in Coalville, to take part in a day of cycling activities.

The 22-year-old Olympic and world champion – and team pursuit world record holder – led a ride with families along a new nine-mile cycling and walking network around the town being built by Leicestershire County Council. Afterwards Dani signed autographs and took part in an excellent Q&A session, with lots of excited youngsters and adults posing some very interesting questions.

There was also a range of activities on offer: 3SIXTY bike stunt shows; obstacle races; crazy bikes; competitions to win bikes; free bike maintenance checks with ‘Dr Bike'; electric bike trials. Despite the wet weather everyone had a fantastic time.

Are you free for a few hours on Saturday 1st June between 10am and 2pm? Ibstock Community College is looking for some extra hands to help them build a massive 42ft x 20ft poly tunnel. Chris Bates, Community Development Officer, explains:

“I know everyone is on holiday but we could do with as many people as possible helping. Are you free for a few hours? We‘d really appreciate your help! We will be starting at 10am and hope to finish around 2pm. We look forward to seeing you all!"

Join in the family fun on Wednesday 29th May and help celebrate the official launch of the new Coalville Cycle Network at Stephenson College from 11am-3pm. This is a wonderful chance to see an Olympic Gold cycling medallist in action and to get out on your bike too. Dani King, Gold medallist on Super Saturday in the Women‘s Cycling Team Pursuit, will be Leicestershire County Council‘s guest of honour on the day and will officially open Coalville‘s new cycle network.

It will be a case of bikes everywhere! Cycle rides led by Dani King, stunt bikes to wow you, cycling to power a scalextric track, cycle powered smoothies, free Dr Bike maintenance checks, win a bike, you name it. Just don‘t forget to bring your bike!

Concentrations of carbon dioxide in the global atmosphere have reached 400 parts per million (ppm) for the first time in human history, according to the latest data.

Last week, the daily mean concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere at a US government agency lab in Mauna Loa, Hawaii, surpassed 400 parts per million (ppm) for the first time since measurements began in 1958.

Guests at the Civic Ball and Annual Green Footprints Awards have hailed the event a great success, with five very happy projects picking up Awards in the following categories: Businesses; Children & Young People; Partnerships & Community Groups; Schools; Sustainable Urban Design.

North West Leicestershire District Council would like to congratulate all the shortlisted projects on their achievements and say a special thank you to this year‘s sponsors: Radisson Blu Hotel East Midlands Airport; Quadrant Events; Stephenson College; The National Forest Company; Ourplace.

This Friday fifteen excited schools, groups and businesses will find out if they have won a 2013 Green Footprints Award. Three projects have been shortlisted in five categories and all have been invited as an honoured guest to attend the annual Civic Ball and Green Footprints Awards. Black tie is the order for the evening and after a delicious meal very kindly supplied by our main sponsor, Radisson Blu Airport Hotel, the wait will finally be over. Who will win this year? Check out our award pages to find out who has been shortlisted.

The County Council‘s volunteer Master Composters will be on hand throughout Compost Week, from Saturday 4th to Saturday 11th May to provide advice on all things composting and wormery related. Check out our Events listings for further details of fun bin-painting and poster competitions.

Work to create an amphitheatre in the community garden at Ibstock Community College is nearing completion – and you can help! A volunteer day will be held at the community garden on Saturday 30 March from 10am – 2pm.

Volunteers will be able to work on a variety of garden-based projects, including the amphitheatre, which is being built with the help of materials from local companies. The amphitheatre is already attracting bookings for open air performances and is expected to become a popular venue for local schools and community groups. It should be completed by the end of May.

Anyone interested in helping with the garden project should meet at the youth centre at 10am on 30 March.

Are you a local business based in North West Leicestershire? Have you been affected by rising energy prices? The Green Footprints Business Network, working with the Council‘s Business Focus team, is inviting all local businesses to attend a FREE workshop to:

• learn how to reduce energy use and costs
• find out what renewable energy technologies are available
• learn more about the Green Deal and how it could work for your business
• hear what financial tools and Government deals are available

Sign up for this FREE workshop that will be held on Wednesday 24^th April at Donington Park Race Track. For further information and to register please log on to the Eventbrite website.