Borough’s residents recycling more

Following the start of Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council's new weekly food waste recycling collection service last October, the amount of rubbish being put into residents' grey bins is reducing.

Figures from the first three months of food waste collections, show around 1,065 tonnes of food waste have been transferred from the rubbish bin and transformed into green energy and fertiliser - that's roughly the weight of 177 elephants.

And it's not just food waste recycling that is making a difference. With the growing season set to start soon, a record number of households were signed up to garden waste collections last summer and this is expected to rise again this year, helping to turn even more clippings and cuttings from gardens into compost.

Residents are also using their green bins to recycle their card, paper, plastic bottles, aerosols, tins and cans and their green boxes for their glass bottles and jars.

But there is still much more to do, with the government setting targets requiring the borough to half the amount of rubbish thrown away and double the amount of recycling.

Hampshire County Council, as the disposal authority, plans to introduce recycling for plastic pots, tubs trays and cartons in 2028. Until then, the focus is on supporting residents to recycle everything they currently can. At the moment, over a quarter of what ends up in the borough's rubbish bins could be recycled now.

Cabinet Member for Residents' Services and Housing Cllr Laura James said: "Residents tell us they want to recycle more and, as a borough, we know we have to increase the amount we recycle and reduce the amount we waste.

"We have worked hard to bring in the new food waste service ahead of the government's deadline and I'm delighted that a large number of residents are taking the opportunity to recycle their peelings and plate scrapings every week.

"While we wait for new opportunities to recycle more, it's so important that we recycle all that we currently can in our green bins and glass boxes. If all homes in our borough were to recycle just one more item each week, like a plastic bottle or a cereal box, that would equate to 4.2 million extra items a year."

Information on what can and can't be recycled can be found on the borough council's website at www.basingstoke.gov.uk/recycling