Tewkesbury Borough residents can now recycle more
Residents in the borough are officially the first in Gloucestershire to be able to recycle extra plastics and Tetra-Pak style cartons, thanks to Tewkesbury Borough Council extending its' recycling service.
The borough council has listened to the views of its residents and added to the list of materials which can be recycled in the blue recycling bins from Monday, 12 July.
Households can now put items such as plastic pots and trays, cartons and paperback books in to the collection bins.
Tewkesbury Borough Council's Lead Member for Clean and Green Environment Cllr Jim Mason said "Our new recycling and waste service has had a very strong start – and expanding the service means that this can only get better.
"We are significantly ahead of the game in Tewkesbury Borough – and we are proud to be the first council in the county to introduce the additional recycling materials.
Yoghurt pots, fruit punnets, food tubs, ice cream tubs, trays, Tetra-Pak style food and drinks cartons, paperback books, metal sweet and biscuit tins, greetings cards and wrapping paper can now be recycled using the blue bin. The council is asking residents to make sure the food packaging recycling is rinsed clean to avoid any food or drink residue spoiling the other recycling.
Since the new scheme started in April, residents have achieved a recycling rate of 59 per cent, which is a dramatic improvement from the borough's previous highest rate, which was 33 per cent.
In addition to the impressive recycling rate, the amount of waste households are sending to landfill has been halved under the new scheme. In May 2009 the council sent over 2000 tonnes to landfill, now with the new scheme up and running, the council only sent just over 1000 tonnes for the same period this year.
Adding extra materials to the recycling service will guarantee continued success. Over the next few weeks the council will be delivering information to make sure every household is aware of the changes.
For more information, visit www.tewkesbury.gov.uk/recycling
July 2010