The scheme, named In The Bag, starts with the main towns of Bodmin, Bude, Camelford, Launceston, Padstow and Wadebridge, extending by Christmas across the whole district.
Technical services director Mark Hall explained that the contract was recently retendered, along with those for refuse collection and street cleansing. The latter two remained with the council’s in-house service.
Cornwall Paper’s winning bid will see it receive a fixed annual fee of 297,000, giving certainty to both sides in the deal. The council expects to receive about 100,000 back in recycling credits, and also a proportion of the profits made from selling the collected material to recycling mills, Mr Hall added.
Fortnightly collections will take in paper, cans, aerosols, plastic and glass bottles, foil, household textiles and cardboard. The council has been delivering leaflets and recycling bags ahead of the scheme’s launch.
Cornwall Paper will collect, sort and process the material and send it to mills across the country. Company spokeswoman Christine Smith said: “This is a very comprehensive scheme which will enable householders to significantly reduce the amount of rubbish going to landfill.”
An existing monthly recycling scheme will continue in rural areas until In The Bag phases in completely.
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