The campaign is part of Anglia's “Slim Your Bin” initiative and has been nominated for the Institute of Public Relations “Local Government Communication Partnership of the Year” award.
The “Slim Your Bin” scheme was set up three years ago to reduce the amount of waste produced in the region and involves Anglia Television, 41 local authorities, local radio stations and newspapers. The initiative is chaired by Cambridgeshire County Council and is sponsored by Viridor Waste and in Cambridgeshire by Shanks First.
Each year, the scheme concentrates on a different aspect of minimising waste. In its first year the campaign concentrated on raising awareness about recycling and last year a “Smart Shopping” campaign aimed to reduce the public's usage of plastic bags and other packaging waste. Composting is the main focus this year and the campaign has been singled out for its successful promotion of composting and waste minimisation.
Roadshows have toured the region giving residents information on how they can compost and free seeds and re-usable shopping bags have also been given out. And the initiative has received extensive local media coverage with Anglia Television heavily promoting the project.
Cambridgeshire County Council has also run extra local roadshows in partnership with Peterborough City Council and the county's district councils. The council is also selling discounted compost bins and peat-free compost to encourage residents to take part in the scheme.
Lewis Herbert, regional chairman and waste management team leader for Cambridgeshire County Council, said: “We are delighted to have got this far in a nation-wide competition, thanks to the commitment of recycling officers and councillors across East Anglia. Our campaign has showed the public how organic waste they put in the bin can be made into a quality soil conditioner, saving people bags of money on compost. People will also save local councils thousands of pounds by reducing the rubbish we have to dispose of.”
The winner will be announced in Birmingham on September 8.
Register for free to comment