Archived press release

Date Published: 28/06/06

Residents taking part in a new green waste trial in Winslow have been thanked for their efforts in recycling household and garden waste. Since April, when AVDC introduced the scheme to 1,300 households in the area, over 90 tonnes of biodegradable...

Residents taking part in a new green waste trial in Winslow have been thanked for their efforts in recycling household and garden waste.

Since April, when AVDC introduced the scheme to 1,300 households in the area, over 90 tonnes of biodegradable waste has been recycled. And more than 85 per cent of the properties in the area are using their new brown bin.

This means that in the trial area over 50 per cent of waste is now recycled or composted.

Councillor Michael Edmonds, Cabinet Member for Housing, Environment and Health, is delighted with the response from Winslow residents. He said: “We have seen a terrific rise in recycling in the Winslow area since the trial started in April and this is a credit to residents and the council’s waste services. We have also received very positive feedback from residents on the service and we hope to encourage more people to use the new brown bins.”

“I would like to thank the residents of Winslow for their help in reducing waste and ask
them to continue their excellent efforts,” he added.

Under the new scheme, residents have been provided with an additional 240 litre wheeled bin in which they are able to deposit their garden waste such as grass cuttings, leaves, twigs, hedge trimmings and weeds. As well as garden waste, cardboard including cereal boxes, pizza boxes and toilet roll tubes, and coloured paper can also be placed in the brown bins.

AVDC collects garden waste and cardboard one week and picks up general household rubbish for landfill disposal the following week. The contents of the brown bins are taken to a local farm, shredded and then composted for reuse as a soil conditioner.

This will have a significant beneficial effect on the environment as biodegradable waste produces methane, a greenhouse gas, as it rots when buried as landfill.

The recycling trial will extend to part of Buckingham in September. AVDC will be surveying residents in Winslow to see what aspects of the trial can be improved before the second phase is rolled out. Only when the council has fully assessed the trials will any decision be taken as to the wider introduction of the scheme.

In order to avoid a build up of rubbish that won’t fit into the green bin, it is important that residents take full advantage of the council’s recycling collections for paper, plastics, cans and glass. If residents don’t have any recycling baskets or need more, they can contact the council on 01296 585110.