Recycling Roundup 4th December

Recycling Roundup 4th December

The amount of rubbish being recycled in Bath and North-East Somerset has rocketed thanks to a brand-new recycling service. An average of an extra 10 tonnes of rubbish was collected each day since the new service started on 6^th November.

The council has thanked residents for their cooperation with the new scheme, and admitted that there had been some teething problems, but that they are resolving them.

There have been some big changes to waste collection services. Crews had to learn new routes and the increased amount of recycling has meant that crews had to carry out further collections the following day to complete the route.

The council stated that many residents have ordered green boxes and food caddies, and over 5000 people have signed up for a weekly text reminders service which reminds people when their collection day is.

Extra staff have been hired to distribute the boxes, but if residents want to pick up their own, they can collect them from their local recycling centre.

Image courtesy of WRAP UK

A business owner is being threatened with prosecution by Brighton and Hove Council after council officers observed him putting a cardboard box and a plastic bottle in a recycling bin at a shopping centre in the seaside town. The council say that because the waste was generated in the course of his business, that it is classed as trade waste, which can’t be disposed of in public bins.

He has been given a £600 penalty notice, which will rise to £2000 if he doesn’t pay within 14 days. If he continues to fail to pay the fine, he faces prosecution.

The council has told him that he needs a commercial waste collection, which would cost him hundreds of pounds, and a certificate to say that the waste is being disposed of responsibly. The business owner says that he doesn’t need a commercial waste service as his business generates hardly any waste.

He makes beard oils and moustache waxes on a workbench in a small gift shop near Brighton beach. He said that at the end of each week, he usually has 1-2 cardboard boxes and 1 plastic bottle to recycle, and he reuses everything else.

A spokesperson for the council stated that all businesses are legally required to dispose of their waste through a contractor, and that the misuse of local authority bins costs them hundreds of thousands of pounds every year. This is why they have introduced enforcement.

The University of Kent Estates Department has opened a Recycling Hub that will increase the amount of items that can be recycled, including batteries and gas canisters, electrical items, wood, and metal.

The site has been built over the last two years in an effort to make the University more sustainable, and allowing it to collect and store as much of the waste it produces as possible before it gets sent off to be recycled.

There are 17 types of waste that can be stored in the hub, including aerosols, lamps, lighting tubes and fridges. The site also has an in-built drain to prevent any fluids from items leaking into the surrounding land.

The University of Kent has focused hugely on its recycling efforts in the last few years. They responsibly disposed of over 2,315 tonnes of waste in the past academic year.

They have also cut carbon emissions by 14.4% since 2005 and they are set to meet their target of 20% by 2023. Water waste has also been reduced by 15% in the last 12 months.