Hull council achieves significant recycling milestone

The council was set the task of recycling 18% of its waste by April this year through statutory government targets – a job that seemed unlikely in 2002 when Hull was languishing towards the bottom of the recycling table with a 6% rate.

” The news that Hull has exceeded 18% for 2005/06 shows the determination of the council and a growing section of the public to take this issue seriously “
– Doug Sharp, Hull city council
But thanks to the introduction of a kerbside scheme and community recycling centres over the last four years Hull reached 18.02% for 2005/06, a rate that is up almost five percentage points on its 2003/04 rate.

The council has said that the latest improvement has stemmed from an increased participation in its recycling scheme, coupled with a new 1.1 million household waste recycling site at Burma Drive.

Requests

Hull council distributed an A-Z guide to recycling, which lead to requests for an additional 4,500 recycling containers.

Doug Sharp, sustainable waste development manager at the council, said: “The news that Hull has exceeded 18% for 2005/06 shows the determination of the council and a growing section of the public to take this issue seriously.”

Most of the residents in Hull have a fortnightly black box collection, with glass, cans, aerosols, foil, plastic bottles and textiles all taken by the council – as well as a blue bin for paper collections.

Crucial

Hull city council has maintained in the past that a kerbside scheme is crucial in the city because of the low private transport rate. Only around 50% of residents in Hull have a car and cannot take advantage of the community recycling centres.

For those with cars available there are now 65 recycling centres in Hull, as well as over 25 communal recycling centres for flats and residential homes.

Residents in Hull have set the council a recycling target of 45% by 2010 and Mr Sharp said: “We have achieved a significant milestone on the road towards 45% recycling and I would like to thank everyone involved for their hard work.”