Barnet&#39s new recycling site has been shortlisted for a Labour Party award

London Borough of Barnet councillors learned this week that its recycling site, which is run by community recycling group ECT Recycling, has beaten off stiff competition from 170 other council entries to become a finalist in the national Labour Party Local Government Best Practice Awards for 'leading change'. It is the third time that Barnet has got through to the final stages of the award in the past four years.

The council's new civic amenity and recycling centre at Summers Lane, Finchley is up for the award is ECT's first recycling site. ECT won two seven-year contracts for recycling work in Barnet worth about 1million a year in the summer. The contracts started on October 1 and included a 250,000 contract for ECT to run a civic amenity and recycling site and another to set up kerbside recycling for all homes in the borough. Under the kerbside scheme, residents receive a plastic box to recycle paper, glass, cans, tin foil, textiles, shoes, engine oil, car and household batteries and Yellow Pages.

Yesterday, January 17, Local Government Minister Dr Alan Whitehead MP visited the site which, combined with the kerbside scheme, the council hopes will increase its recycling rate from 7% to 18% by 2003. The council also hopes that by increasing recycling it will reduce waste disposal costs which reached 1million in 2000/2001.

Over 50%
Dr Whitehead toured the site with Council Labour Leader Alan Williams who said: “The recycling rate at the Summers Lane site is over 50%, and the doorstep recycling service is also working well, helping us to raise the amount of waste we recycle. That's better for the environment, but it's also better for the council taxpayer, because we save money on landfill costs and collecting rubbish, but we also get money back through selling the materials that we can invest in other services. I urge all local people to get behind the scheme.”

The site recycles paper, green, brown and clear glass, cans, tin foil, textiles, scrap metal, plastic bottles, wood, fluorescent tubes, electronic equipment, shoes, fridges, gas bottles, engine oil, car and household batteries, yellow pages, garden waste, cardboard and asbestos. Domestic hardcore and building materials are also taken. In
addition paint and furniture are collected and sent for re-use by local community groups.