Aylesbury Vale residents praised for recycling efforts
Archived press release
Date Published: 18/09/12
Collection vehicle
Residents have been praised for helping Aylesbury Vale’s new recycling and waste service to become an immediate success.
Aylesbury Vale District Council launched its new service on 4 September, which sees all food waste and extra recycling materials now being diverted from landfill.
More than 700 tonnes of recycling and 260 tonnes of food waste have been recycled in the first two weeks of the scheme, compared with 430 tonnes of recycling under the old scheme. This equates to almost 100 full collection vehicles of waste which didn’t have to go to landfill.
The new scheme aims to help AVDC reach the government's recycling rates of 50 per cent by 2015 and 60 per cent by 2020.
It involves a weekly collection of food waste and an alternate fortnightly collection of recyclables and waste.
The addition of food waste to the service is vital as the government has set a limit which determines how much biodegradable waste can be sent to landfill. Councils that exceed this must pay to send more to landfill.
All food waste collected in the new service goes to an anaerobic digestion plant, where methane gas will generate electricity.
Residents across the Vale have been contacting the council to praise the new service. Aylesbury resident Denise O’Shea said: “The big recycling bin is brilliant. It saves so much time and trouble and you can recycle lots more things too.”
Kevin Down of Aylesbury said: “The whole scheme has made life easier for me. The fact we have got one big bin to put all the recycling in is great as I don’t have to sort the materials into different containers.”
And Ian Jameson of Charndon said: “It’s an excellent bit of project management with very good publicity.”
Councillor Sir Beville Stanier, Cabinet Member for Environment and Health, thanked those people who have taken the changes on board and made a huge contribution to the early success of the scheme.
“The first two weeks of our new waste and recycling scheme has been a great success and I’d like to thank residents for their help and understanding in what has been a new experience for us all. With the introduction of the system affecting more than 73,000 homes across the Vale, we anticipated some initial teething problems due to the scale of the change. I realise that there have been a few issues in small pockets of the district but, with the continued support of residents, I am sure that the new scheme will be an unparalleled success.”
Councillor Stanier added that the council is listening to complaints and dealing with the enquiries it receives and will take views on board.
“The number of calls we are receiving from the public on a daily basis is going down as people get used to the changes,” he said. “We have spent a great deal of time and effort to publicise the new service and we will continue to do so and help people get used to it. If residents have any concerns, I would ask that they visit our website – www.aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk/newbins for the latest information. It also sets out a number of key questions together with answers and sources of further information.”
For more information about the new collection service, visit www.aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk/newbins or call the waste hotline on 01296 585510.