Stratford District Council is 5th best performer in the provisional recycling and composting league table published by Lets Recycle in July 2010 (based on 2009/2010 figures).
Last year the District Council's combined recycling and composting rate was 58.6% with a ranking of 5th out of 394 Councils in England. The year before (2008/09) the District Council was in 59th place with a rate of 47.02% so these latest figures show an increase of over 10%.
The increase has been made possible by the enhancements made to the new wheeled bin collection service that were introduced in August 2008. Green wheeled bin collections of garden and food waste are collected all year round and additional materials, including aluminium foil and plastic packaging, can now be placed in the blue-lidded recycling bin.
However, the District Council's improved performance is primarily down to the residents of Stratford District and their conscientious recycling habits; by sorting different waste into the separate wheeled bins or boxes and ensuring the materials are clean, dry and uncontaminated, with even less residual waste going to landfill sites.
Cllr Simon Jackson, Environment Portfolio says: "This is great news for everyone who has worked so hard to make recycling a success in Stratford District and there is no doubt that this has only been achieved through the efforts of residents in the District. On behalf of the District Council, I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who's doing their bit for the environment by recycling their household, garden and food waste. It is fantastic to see the District responding so positively.
"Together with Verdant we've listened to what District residents want and worked hard to provide them with what they said they wanted most - a weekly collection of food waste and the opportunity to recycle more in the way of plastic and cardboard, while continuing to scan the horizon to add more materials that residents can recycle in the future.
"Using a combination of doorstep recycling collections, composting and reducing waste in the first place are all ways of avoiding waste being sent to landfill. So by backing the service and changing habits, residents are not only doing their bit for the future of the environment they are also helping the council to provide an improved value for money service and providing the opportunity of having one of the best recycling rates in the UK. I am keen that we do not rest on our laurels and improve our performance even more so that we get to over 60% next year."
A successful series of recycling roadshows have been carried out over the last few months and are continuing in town centres, local fetes and events to raise awareness of the collection service and provide advice on 'what goes in which bin' as well as answering any questions.
Top five performing Councils:
- 1st Rochford District Council 65%
- 2nd South Oxfordshire 64.2%
- 3rd Staffordshire Moorlands 61.84%
- 4th Cotswold 61%
- 5th Stratford-on-Avon 58.6%
These provisional figures have to be verified by the government's waste database wastedataflow, the Environment Agency and DEFRA before being officially published in November 2010.
For further information please visit: www.letsrecycle.com
