The bins are being introduced as part of Chelmsford Borough Council's two-year “Watch Your Waste Line” trial which will collect paper, glass, foil, textiles and organic waste from around 6,500 households in the South Woodham Ferrers area.
Plastic Omnium has devised a method to inject a colour graphic which is rain resistant into the bin lids which will tell residents what they can and can't recycle. The council said that this is a cost effective way of telling residents about the scheme and hopes that it will ensure they continually separate their waste streams. The bins are also bar coded to show the council which residents are recycling.
Sue Creary, recycling officer for Chelmsford Borough Council, said: “Photo-Injection will be a great help to residents and would help stop the wrong materials going into the wrong container. Residents lose their leaflets over time, but photo-injection is there permanently.”
The council aims to recycle or compost 40% of waste by 2004 and 60% by 2007 and Martin Easteal, chief executive of Chelmsford Borough Council, said: “We understand that these are higher targets than for anywhere else in the country, but are believed to be achievable. Everyone is acutely aware of the need to increase recycling and reuse waste products. It is crucial that we find a long-term solution for dealing with the waste that residents produce each year.”
Residents will be given a brown bin in which they can place garden and kitchen waste, cardboard and animal bedding. They will also be given a box for bottles, jars, cans, aluminium foil and textiles and a sack for paper. The separate collection of glass and paper overcomes the problems of contamination and has proven to be successful in Australia.
People living in flats will be provided with communal mini-bins into which they can tip organic waste which must not be bagged. Organic waste and residual waste will be collected on alternate weeks and garden waste will be composted and sold back to residents.
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