Croydon recycling levels are rising - but still below national average
RECYCLING is becoming in creasingly popular in the borough – but is still well below the national average.
The success of recycling initiatives, which have seen the total of recycled waste increase from 16 per cent in 2005/6 to 33.5 per cent in the last financial year, was reported to last week's meeting of the council's community services and safety scrutiny sub-committee.
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Recycling levels in Croydon are rising but are still below the national average
The national average is 41.2 per cent and 32.4 per cent in London.
The report emphasised the importance of increased recycling, pointing out that the £56 a tonne landfill tax is due to rise by £8 a tonne per year until 2014/15 to a level of £80 per tonne.
Success stories outlined in the report included a prediction that the original estimate that 12,000 tonnes of food waste a year would be collected had gone up to 12,074 tonnes.
In addition, plastic recycling increased by 327 tonnes – 22 per cent in October and November – and the total of residual waste – that left after recycling – collected had dropped to under 110,000 tonnes in 2010/11 from just over 125,000 tonnes in 2009/10.
The reports says: "The increase in recycling rates reflect the public's buy-in to the recycling ethos.
"Irrespective of what recycling infrastructure is in place by the council if the public are not willing to take part in the various schemes then the increases would not have been seen."
In a bid to drive up recycling further, the council is studying information from its contractor Veolia to find out where recycling levels are low.
Officers will be visiting homes in the area to ensure residents know how to take part in recycling.
3 Comments
by Mickey_B
Monday, February 13 2012, 12:23PM
“Where I live half the people are either too stupid or too lazy to recycle and put their general waste in the communal recycling bin thus contaminating the entire load and making the bin smell.”
by Misterkipling
Saturday, February 11 2012, 10:00AM
“Nobody bothered to collect the recycling this week, so I recycled most of it into Ash on my bonfire.
Works so well I might just keep doing it.
As your wondering about wet food recycling... You know all those junkmail freepost return envelopes we all get through the post, we don't want to receive them, and I am betting they don't like receiving my wet food recycling through the post in them”
by mikeyjf
Saturday, February 11 2012, 9:32AM
“Sorry fine those who can recycle but clearly will not recycle and help those who want to, but can't due to disabilities and elderly people.”