The scheme will follow the success of the council's first phase of doorstep collections for 60,000 households, which the council said had an 85% uptake after it began in September 2003 (see letsrecycle.com story).
”The support and interest from the first phase of the project has been phenomenal“
-Wendy Holt, Hull city council
Assistant recycling officer Wendy Holt said: “The support and interest from the first phase of the project has been phenomenal. Whether a household has one member or six, everybody has a part to play and we would urge everybody to recycle.”
Under the scheme, each household will receive a black box for glass bottles and jars, plastic bottles, cans, foil, aerosols and textiles. These will be collected once a fortnight by new vehicles divided into six compartments.
The new boxes, made by Hull company Powell's Plastics and supplied by Leeds-based Blackwall, are made from 100% recycled plastic and will be delivered before collections start on March 15, 2004. The council will monitor participation thanks to bar code stickers and readers made by Hull firm Computype and Wolverhampton firm TMS Insight.
The vehicles and boxes are being paid for from a 750,000 DEFRA grant Hull city council won from the second round of the Waste Minimisation and Recycling Fund.
Hull currently recycles about 10%, but must raise this to 14% by 2003/04 and 21% by 2005/06.
Cllr Daren Hale, cabinet member with responsibility for waste issues at Hull, said: “The more waste we recycle, the less we have to send for landfill. The cost of landfill will go up massively in the next few years, so it's vitally important we get a head start.”
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