Borderers recycling 30% of household waste
Monday, September 11 2006
Householders in the Borders are now recycling almost three times as much waste as they were a year ago.
The latest quarterly figures submitted by Scottish Borders Council to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) show that Borders residents recycled 29.93% of waste, compared to 10.4% for the same quarter last year.
During April to June this year, 2,377 tonnes of paper and card, 145 tonnes of plastics and 62 tonnes of cans were sent for recycling in the region.
Scottish Borders Council aims to increase last year’s total recycling rate of 15.9% to 25% this year.
“We are delighted with the latest figures and want to thank everyone for their contribution,” said Julie Rankine, SBC’s Waste Strategy Manager. “Now we have to look at ‘smarter’ recycling. Things like squashing plastic bottles and cans before they go into your clear bags can make a difference. [more]
“Only putting out a recycling bag that is full is another way you can help us to be more efficient. We would rather see a full bag occasionally, than a bag with one plastic bottle in it each week. Using fewer bags will save both natural resources and Council expenditure.”
Every household in the region can now recycle paper, cardboard, cans and plastic bottles each week. This means that waste which once would have gone to landfill is being processed and made into new products.
To reach an annual recycling rate of 25% this year, the quarterly figures for the summer months, when there is a collection of urban garden waste, need to be above target. “We seem to be on course for meeting this target, but we all need to keep the momentum going,” said Julie Rankine.
SBC recycling rates:
January to March 2005 = 7.92%
April to June 2005 = 10.44%
July to Sep 2005 = 14.64%
Oct to Dec 2005 = 18.78%
January to March 2006 = 20.82%
April to June 2006 = 29.93%.
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