£4.6million boost for Bradford Council waste and recycling services (From Ilkley Gazette)
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Communities Secretary Eric Pickles hails new deal
8:00am Friday 23rd November 2012 in Local news
By Anika Bourley
Communities Secretary Eric Pickles
Recycling across the district is set to be collected fortnightly instead of monthly with more items added to what can be recycled – after a Government windfall of more than £4.6 million.
As it stands Bradford Council recycles paper and card, and bottles and cans.
But a cash injection will mean the service can be expanded, along with improving collections, according to Councillor Andy Thornton, Bradford Council’s executive member responsible for the environment.
Last night Communities Secretary Eric Pickles announced £4,668,550 would be awarded to the district as part of a £250 million Weekly Collect Support Scheme fund.
Coun Thornton said: “This will really help enhance our recycling kerbside schemes as well as help weekly collections.
“We had no plans to change from weekly rubbish collections anyway but part of the arrangement with getting the money is the collections are maintained weekly. It means we can increase the frequency we collect recycling and include other things.
“I think one of the most fundamental things people expect their Council to do is collect rubbish and we want to continue to provide a really good service. This money will help.
“We are delighted we have got through the process and been awarded some money.”
The Government said it feared that without a cash injection weekly bin collections could disappear by 2015.
Former Bradford Council leader Mr Pickles said: “Every Englishman has a basic right to have their household rubbish taken away each and every week – it is the most visible council service people get.
“Over six million families will breathe a sigh of relief because we have put a stop to the fetid fortnightly rot and saved many weekly collections from extinction, all while increasing recycling rates by hundreds of thousands of tonnes to boot.”
Comments(7)
Steve30d
says...
10:01am Fri 23 Nov 12
JAtkinson wrote:For our house, I'd much prefer it if the cans , glass and paper could go in the bottom of the recycling bin and it were only the freebe paper+takeaway leaflets that literally go straight into the blue insert. Only 2 of us here+ a cat, and there's still times when despite a can crusher the blue insert gets too full to take anymore, so curently like you it's a run down to the dump for the recyling overflow+plastic. Without a vehicle it would likely go in the bin.
With the large bins, not sure it needs to be fortnightly; certainly I don't need it and we share with next door.
However, it would be great to have plastic recycled from the door. We take ours to the tip every few weeks but I know that most people on our road put plastic in the bin for landfill.
Interested in what the proposal are for where the plastic would go- In with paper, metal, or in seperate bins/containers? Plastic is pretty low density compared to what is currently recycled by the council here. (ain't the landfill tax baised on weight, not volume- council seems to have been on the ball noticing that when recycling started here)
Mike Strutter
says...
10:21am Fri 23 Nov 12
Mike Strutter
says...
10:21am Fri 23 Nov 12
Mike Strutter
says...
10:44am Fri 23 Nov 12
RollandSmoke
says...
12:52pm Fri 23 Nov 12
Albion.
says...
2:04pm Fri 23 Nov 12
RollandSmoke wrote:He is a perpetual re-cyclist.
Can Eric Pickles offer us any tips regarding how he deals with food waste?
JAtkinson says...
8:41am Fri 23 Nov 12
However, it would be great to have plastic recycled from the door. We take ours to the tip every few weeks but I know that most people on our road put plastic in the bin for landfill.