RECYCLING
The switch to a new
system of recycling and
rubbish collection has
meant an early leap in
recycling rates, reports
Deborah Dickey.
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n the first month of the
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borough’s new wheelie bin
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service in June, the amount
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collected by the council
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increased to 55%. This was a
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jump on the same period last
year of seven percentage points
and is above the target the council has
and leisure, said: “We said that the
of recycling 50% of waste by 2018.
wheelie bin collection service would
In Southall, the number of
help residents to recycle more, so
households participating in the
I’m delighted to see this significant
council’s kerbside recycling service
increase so early after the change. It is
jumped from 49% before the new
early days, of course, but I’d like to say
service began to 73%.
thank you to everyone who has used
More residents than ever are also
their blue wheelie bins to recycle. They
recycling their food waste. Before the
are making a big difference.
service change, there were 35,000
“This has been a huge change to
green food waste bins being used
the way everyone does things, so I
in the borough. An additional 7,000
would also like to thank everyone for
bins have since been handed out and
their patience. When problems have
150 more tonnes of food waste was
occurred we have tried to put them
collected in June than in the previous
right as quickly as possible. The end
month. This amount of waste is
result, as the June recycling rates
equivalent to the weight of 150 adult
and evidence from elsewhere seem
polar bears. That is a lot of arctic rolls.
to show, will be a borough recycling
Councillor Bassam Mahfouz, cabinet
more and wasting less – and, by doing
member for transport, environment
44
around ealing
Autumn 2016
so, helping the environment and
saving the community money at the
same time.”
HOW IT WORKS
The new collection service started on
6 June. Most people now use a black
wheelie bin for their rubbish and a blue
wheelie bin for their mixed recycling.
Wheelie bins are collected on alternate
weeks with rubbish collected one week
and recycling the next.
Food waste is collected every week
from small green bins and there is no
change to the fortnightly garden waste
collection service for subscribers.
For more information, visit
www.ealing.gov.uk/bins