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Wiltshire's Christmas recycling figures up by a third
Wiltshire residents have been praised for their green efforts as new figures show a rise in seasonal recycling.
The Christmas and New Year period traditionally sees a rise in glass, cardboard and plastic recycling as well, of course, as Christmas trees.
According to the latest figures 1,631 tonnes of waste were collected over the 12 days of Christmas at the Household Recycling Centres and kerbside recycling. This is 30% higher than last year.
The waste included:
294 tonnes of card
120 tonnes of paper
165 tonnes of glass
880 tonnes collected through the kerbside recycling scheme.
Managers at the ten HRCs say they have noticed a steep rise in electrical items in particular. Televisions, computers, printers, games consoles and similar products have been flooding in to the centres.
Cliff Carter, recycling promotions manager for Hills Waste Solutions, which operates the HRCs on behalf of Wiltshire County Council, said: "We were open for eight of the 12 days of Christmas and we collected an incredible amount of waste in that time.
"It's certainly looking like one of the busiest festive seasons ever.
"We've been inundated with electrical items and televisions in particular. It's clear that when these types of things break or become a little out of date most people simply bin them."
Electrical waste is the fastest-growing form of rubbish in the European Union and the UK produces an estimated 1.2m tonnes of it each year.
New legislation came into force last year which requires producers to take more responsibility for how their electrical products are disposed of and in particular to ensure they get recycled.
The county council sends the waste electrical items on to reprocessors who ensure they are stripped of all materials that might be reused and that the hazardous elements are disposed of properly. For example, when you throw away an old television at the HRC, 98% of it will be recycled.
Toby Sturgis, Wiltshire County Council's cabinet member for planning and waste, said: "We'd like to thank people for their patience if they have found the recycling centres popular.
"Staff have been working hard to clear material and keep the sites operating as smoothly as possible - but with thousands of extra tonnes of waste being generated it is always a busy time.
"If you still have seasonal waste to get rid of or you are starting your spring clear out early then don't forget you can recycle more than 36 types of material at your nearest HRC."
Another item which has vastly increased is tin cans. The teams who collect the black box kerbside collection have asked householders, where possible, to crush the tin cans to make room for more.
Meanwhile people are reminded that they can safely dispose of low energy light bulbs at the HRCs. Recently there have been warnings about the dangers of these light bulbs as they contain small amounts of mercury, which is toxic. However they are perfectly safe as long as they are not broken.
If you need to dispose of them then, like fluorescent light tubes, they can be taken to your nearest HRC. They are sent on to reprocessors and as much as possible is recycled.
It certainly should not put you off using these bulbs as they provide a cost-effective and environmentally-friendly alternative to standard light bulbs.
The HRCs are open 9am to 4pm every day of the week with Warminster and Salisbury open additionally until 6pm every day.
The county's ten HRCs are operated by the county council's waste contractors Hills Group. They are at Amesbury, Lower Compton near Calne, Devizes, Everleigh, Melksham, Purton, Trowbridge, Salisbury, Stanton St Quintin and Warminster.
Wiltshire County Council is a member of the Wiltshire Waste Partnership, a collaboration between the county council, Swindon Borough Council and Kennet, North Wiltshire, Salisbury and West Wiltshire district councils. They work together to tackle waste issues across the county.
For more information see www.recycleforwiltshire.com
Contributor : communications communications@wiltshire.gov.uk
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