Council believe recycling message is hitting home
The amount of household rubbish being recycled in Edinburgh is increasing, with residents sending less waste than ever before to landfill.
So far in 2012/13, there has been a drop of at least 7,000 tonnes of waste than the same period last year – a fall of 6%,and a projected 9,700 ton reduction by the end of the financial year. The amount that residents are recycling has also increased by over 6000 tonnes, or 8%.
Food waste recycling is also proving to be popular with the highest amount collected this January since the scheme was introduced, a total of 465 tonnes.
And with a decreasing number of side waste and overfilled bins being put out for collection, the vast majority of residents are recognising the importance of recycling.
The latest figures reveal that a proactive campaign by recycling advisors to give door-to-door advice about the importance of presenting bins correctly met with a positive response from 87% of those contacted, with over half requesting additional or new recycling bins and boxes.
A full breakdown of the figures will be provided in a waste and recycling performance report to the City of Edinburgh Council’s Transport and Environment Committee on Tuesday.
Councillor Jim Orr, Vice Convener of the Transport and Environment Committee, said: “These figures tell me that the reduce, reuse and recycle message is being taken on-board by residents, who are to be thanked for such a fantastic effort at helping to keep our streets clean and to protect the environment.
“The continued roll-out of the food waste recycling scheme across the city this year is expected to have an even more positive impact on reducing the amount we send to landfill, which is both expensive and harmful to the atmosphere.
“A lot of work is going into continually improving the access that people have to recycling. The kerbside recycling collection and the communal facilities available for tenements are being reviewed, while advice and guidance about recycling is available from environmental advisors and at www.edinburgh.gov.uk/waste.”
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
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