The first phase of the new two-bin collection has now been running for 16 weeks, and the second phase will be rolled out next month. Environmental strategy officer Richard Johnson said participation in the first phase was “well over” what the council had anticipated.
“We are now getting not far off 100% participation,” he explained. “In a way it has caused its own problems as it's far in excess of what we expected.”
The scheme currently covers around 5,000 households, but will expand to cover 40,000 by January 2005.
Council leader Dennis Norton had to write to residents earlier in the year to apologise for problems caused when the collection switched from back doors to the kerbside before the scheme was up and running (see letsrecycle.com story). He admitted concerns had been voiced, and promised a review of the initiative.
Mr Johnson said that now people only have to take household and garden waste to the kerb once they had received new wheeled bins and boxes and become part of the scheme.
Bromsgrove has a new fleet of Mercedes refuse vehicles to collect green wheeled bins of recyclable materials and black bins for residuals on alternate weeks.
Although Bromsgrove was recently criticised by Friends of the Earth for not providing kerbside recycling services for householders, the council does believe it will reach its 10% recycling target for 2003/04.
The council has modelled its new recycling approach on top English recyclers Daventry and Lichfield in order to reach its next statutory target of 18% by 2005/06.
Subscribe for free