Archived press release

Date Published: 25/09/06

Households in Buckingham are set to have cardboard and garden rubbish collected from their doors once a fortnight by Aylesbury Vale District Council. Residents of the Badgers Estate will join the council’s trial to collect biodegradable &ls...

Households in Buckingham are set to have cardboard and garden rubbish collected from their doors once a fortnight by Aylesbury Vale District Council.

Residents of the Badgers Estate will join the council’s trial to collect biodegradable ‘green waste’ for composting next week. People living in Winslow started on a similar recycling scheme last spring.

During the trial, 1,400 residents will have their garden rubbish and cardboard collected one week and their general household waste collected the next week. A new 240 litre brown wheeled bin has been provided for residents to dispose of their compostable materials.

Types of garden waste which can be put in the brown bin include grass cuttings, leaves, twigs, hedge trimmings and weeds. As well as garden waste, cardboard including cereal boxes and toilet roll tubes, and coloured paper can also be placed in the brown bin.

The contents of the brown bins will be taken to a local farm, shredded and then composted. This will reduce the amount of biodegradable waste that would otherwise go into landfill sites.

The aim of the composting trial is to test out new collection systems. AVDC aims to eventually provide a collection of kitchen waste, green garden waste, card and paper from the whole of the district. While the trial takes place, the council will measure how much waste is collected for composting and how it affects residents and their household refuse collections.

Since AVDC introduced the green waste trial to 1,300 households in Winslow, over 200 tonnes of biodegradable waste has been recycled. And more than 80 per cent of the properties in the trial area are using their new brown bin. As a result, over 45 per cent of waste is now recycled or composted in the Winslow trial area.

Councillor Michael Edmonds, Cabinet Member for Housing, Environment and Health, said: “We value the support we have received so far from those taking part in this green waste trial and encourage all residents in Buckingham who have received the new brown bin to participate. Residents will notice a significant decrease in the amount of rubbish in their usual bin when they start to recycle their garden waste and cardboard using the green waste service. Householders taking part in the trial will help us to reduce the amount of waste we bury in landfill, which in turn will help to reduce climate change and will also have the bonus of keeping future costs down for council tax payers.”

The new brown bins and information leaflets explaining how the scheme works were delivered to households in the trial area earlier this month. The trial starts in Buckingham on Wednesday 4 October.

Fortnightly collections of paper, plastic and cans, and the four-weekly collections of glass will continue as normal.

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 585510.

Further information about the green waste recycling trial is available on the council’s website www.aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk under Your home, then Household refuse & recycling.