The waste company today signed a partnership agreement which will see the new materials recycling facility in Greenwich taking mixed recyclables from borough council kerbside collections for the next 20 years.
 Elliot Morley MP and Cleanaway CEO Gerben Westra launch the recycling scheme |
The MRF will cost 8 million to build. 1.5 million of this will come from a London Recycling Fund grant won by Greenwich, and the rest from Cleanaway itself.
Environment minister Elliot Morley backed mixed recyclable collections at the launch. He said: “I am delighted to give this initiative the government's support. It's clear that mixed recyclable collections are very convenient for people – you don't need different bins to collect recyclables in and you don't need to separate them out.”
Mr Morley added it was important to publicise the economic advantages of recycling. “People's individual attitudes are the key to change and they need to recognise the environmental and cost benefits of recycling. What these schemes do is reduce the amount people have to pay in Landfill Tax and therefore reduce Council Tax bills.”
The recycling rate in Greenwich is currently 11.5% and its target for 2005/06 is 18%. The new MRF will take paper, plastics, aluminium, steel, card and glass from mixed kerbside collections. It will have the capacity to recycle 50,000 tonnes waste per year, half of which is expected to come from collections in Greenwich.
Cleanaway is hopeful that neighbouring boroughs such as Bexley, Lewisham, Southwark and Bromley will also want to use the facility.
UK MRFs have traditionally avoided glass but Gerben Westra, Cleanaway's chief executive officer, said the MRF would use new sorting methods to yield high quality materials.
The MRF will be located in a non-residential area at Nathan Way next to an existing CA site. The council hopes the new facility will go some way to regenerating the area, as it will create 50-60 new jobs.
Register for free to comment