Date issued: 23 August 2018
Colchester Borough Council has released new statistics for the first three full months of this financial year, which show recycling rates across the borough continue to rise.
In the months April to June 2018, the Borough recycled an average of 58% of all its rubbish – an 11% increase on the recycling rate seen during the same period in 2017.
Individual recycling items have all seen an increase, resulting in 2,389 more tonnes of recyclable materials compared to the same period in 2017. Non-recyclable rubbish for this period was also down by 22%, which equates to 1,640 fewer tonnes of rubbish compared to the same period last year.
In June 2017, the Council made changes to waste collections across the borough in order to boost recycling rates and reduce the amount of rubbish being disposed of. Since the changes were introduced, figures have and continue to show that the fortnightly black bin/bag collection arrangements have reduced the amount of general rubbish each household puts out and has encouraged residents to recycle more.
Going forward, even more household rubbish looks set to be recycled in Colchester following the Cabinet’s recent agreement to extend the collection of plastic recycling to residents living in flats.
This latest increase in recycling figures and the upcoming introduction of plastic recycling in flats support the Better Colchester campaign, which aims to make Colchester a better to live, work and visit.
Councillor Martin Goss, Portfolio Holder for Waste, Environment and Transportation, said: “I’m delighted to be able to share the excellent news that the recycling rates for the borough in the first quarter of 2018 show a further increase, and I would like to thank residents and businesses for their continued recycling efforts.
“There is always more we can all do reduce our impact on the environment and improve our recycling rates even further, and the upcoming introduction of plastic recycling in flats is a great example of this.”
ENDS
Page last reviewed: 23 August 2018