Recycling rates to drastically increase in wands worth

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Wandsworth council have put in further measures to be an even cleaner and greener borough.

Wandsworth council have put in further measures to be an even cleaner and greener borough. The council has made a huge effort in recent months to help protect the environment. The town hall now sends zero waste directly to landfill and organic waste is being used to produce electricity at a special facility. For the first time ever the boroughs recycling rate exceeded 50% between October and December 2011.

While no rubbish is sent straight to rubbish dumps in the borough, residents are being called upon to recycle all they can with the orange sack collection service and the orange lidded recycling banks near their homes. These services let residents recycle different types of waste including paper, card, glass, cans, food/drinks cartons and plastic pots, tubs and trays without having to keep them separate.


Rates of recycling have increased by 3% from last year due in part to the instillation of around 3,700 which remind residents what to recycle and how. Some refuse chutes have also been converted for recycling in a bid to make it even easier. As well as the obvious environmental boost, this has produced a £4,000 to £5,000 saving in waste disposal costs each month.


In 2012/2013, council officers expect to collect around 26,000 tonnes of orange co-mingled recycling from homes across the borough, which will save approximately £58.50 per tonne compared to residual waste disposal costs – saving a total of £1,521,000 and helping pave the way for council tax in the borough to remain the lowest in the country.


Councillor Jonathan Cook, Wandsworth’s environment spokesman, said: “Residents are increasingly acknowledging the importance of recycling and dealing with waste and we are determined to offer a service that reflects this.

“In addition to the obvious environmental benefits, recycling saves money compared to sending waste to Belvedere, which remains an environmentally preferable alternative to sending waste directly to landfill.

“From April 1, this year, it will cost the council £136 per tonne to send waste for incineration, but only £77.50 per tonne to deliver co-mingled recyclables to a sorting plant in Smugglers Way – so every tonne residents divert from their dustbins to the orange sacks or banks saves £58.50.”

“We target as much waste material as possible for recycling and we have just recently recorded an overall recycling rate of more than 50 per cent, which shows we are making fantastic progress in this area.

“That said, we can and – with help from residents – will do better. We want to encourage even more residents to start thinking green by recycling as much waste as possible.”

Also helping increase Wandsworth’s recycling rate is a new and state of the art sorting facility at Smugglers Way, which now deals with a wider range of waste items, including plastic pots, tubs and trays as well as plastic bottles.

In addition, a re-use service introduced in January collects, repairs and re-uses unwanted household items including furniture and electrical appliances. To book a collection, visit www.londonreuse.com.

Residents wanting advice on how to reduce waste should visit www.wandsworth.gov.uk/info/200084/recycling_rubbish_and_waste/463/reducing_rubbish

To learn more about recycling and the Orange Sack scheme visit www.wandsworth.gov.uk/info/10070/recycling/310/orange_sack_scheme

Anyone whose rubbish is collected in large communal wheeled bins is urged to recycle all they can by using the orange-lidded banks near their home.

If there are none, or to request recycling signs be installed, please email wasteservices@wandsworth.gov.uk or call 020 8871 8558. General enquiries can also be made through these channels.