The boxes were introduced in November and the council's kerbside scheme, which collects paper and cardboard from households around Tunbridge Wells on a fortnightly basis, has seen collection volumes increase threefold.
The council bought 40,000 plastic boxes from Linpac Environmental last Novermber for the households in the scheme. Each box is made from 37 recycled one-litre plastic bottles recovered from the UK waste stream.
Tunbridge Wells client services manager, Julie Mellor, said: “Before switching to the Linpac boxes we were using plastic bags to collect paper. To give some idea of the increase in participation, over the period November 2000 to January 2001 we collected 371 tonnes of material from our kerbside collection, whereas over the same period November 2001 to January 2002 this increased to 973 tonnes.”
The council said they decided to switch to boxes because they wanted to reduce the amount of plastic in the waste stream and because they are more economical than bags. The boxes also enable the council to collect larger volumes of recyclables including cardboard. And the council is now looking at extending the scheme to include aluminium and plastics.
Ms Mellor added that they chose Linpac because its boxes are made from plastic bottles from the UK waste stream. She said: “The products are diverting waste plastics from landfill which is important from both an environmental and economic point of view. They are also helping heighten awareness of the importance of recycling and encouraging individual households to do their bit. We are delighted with the success of our scheme and proud of the contribution made by Tunbridge Wells residents.”
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