NEWS ITEM

Black boxes lead the way to improved recycling

This month sees the extension of the black box kerbside recycling collection scheme to cover the whole of south Wiltshire.

25,000 boxes will be delivered to mainly rural parts of the district over a four-week period beginning in Mere and Tisbury on 19 November.

Collections will start two weeks from the day that boxes are received. For example, households receiving their box on 22 November will have their first collection on 6 December and every fortnight thereafter.

The black box scheme, previously only available to about half of the households in the district, enables residents to have recyclable materials collected from their property on a fortnightly basis. Boxes will accept newspapers, magazines, glass bottles, food and drink cans, aluminium foil, and even empty aerosol cans.

Householders are asked to crush drink and food cans before placing them in the box so that collection vehicles are able to transport as many as possible.

Any additional recyclable material can be put in carrier bags (not black bin bags) and placed alongside the black box. Separate bags should be used for each material.

The scheme is operated by Hills Waste Solutions Ltd on behalf of the Wiltshire Waste Partnership and is part of an improved recycling service for south Wiltshire. The extension of the scheme to the whole of the district means that 90% of the county will now receive a kerbside recycling collection.

Leaflets, detailing what can be put in the boxes and which days they will be collected, are being distributed to all households receiving a box. Information will also be available on the council’s website at www.salisbury.gov.uk/recycling-and-waste and on www.recycleforwiltshire.com.

Households that currently have a fortnightly kerbside paper and cardboard salvage collection will now be able to put their newspaper in the black box. However, due to differences in the recycling processes, cardboard should not be put in the black box.

As a temporary measure, until the introduction of the mixed cardboard and plastics recycling bins next year, a special cardboard only collection scheme will be operated by the district council. Cardboard should be put in carrier bags and left out for collection on the same day as Hills Waste Solutions collect the black boxes.

The extension of the black box scheme is part of the revised refuse and recycling service which sees the district council pull back from a planned alternate week collections pattern to retain a weekly household refuse pick up.

The next stage will be the introduction of a fortnightly, optional, chargeable garden waste collections service in spring 2008.

Wheeled bins for weekly landfill waste collections will be distributed to all households throughout the district from April – September.

The revised collection pattern will be complete when the new cardboard and plastic recycling bins for fortnightly collection are rolled out across the district in October 2008.

Leader of the Council, Paul Sample, said; “Residents in many towns and villages have been telling the council for several years that they wanted to be included in the black box recycling scheme enjoyed by the rest of the district. I am delighted that we are now able to listen and act on their request.
“Young people, especially, have told us that they are worried about global warming and climate change. Now all households in the district can play a part in reducing our impact on the environment and diverting vital resources from going to landfill.
“This is a major step forward. Current recycling performance in the district is around 26%. Extending the black box recycling scheme to the towns and villages that don’t currently receive the service should have a significant impact on this figure.
“At a total cost per household of only 92p per week for the whole of our refuse and recycling service, this represents great value for money for Salisbury district residents.”

Deputy Leader of the Council, Cllr Steve Fear, said; “Britain has one of the worst recycling records in Europe. For too long Salisbury District Council has failed to give all its residents a suitable scheme to enable local residents to send less to land fill. The black box scheme is only one of the measures that we intend to make in the coming year to enable recycling to be easier.. The black box scheme, together with the planned cardboard and plastic collection and the existing 70 local household recycling centres, offers an opportunity for local residents to significantly increase their recycling.” I am confident that will rise to the challenge. There is more for us to do, I am especially anxious that recycling facilities are available to those, like myself, who live in flats and we are looking at schemes to cover this group of residents as soon as possible.

For more information please contact Salisbury Distrcit Council on 01722 336272 .

ENDS 15 November 2007