With 7,000 brown bins delivered to homes over the past few weeks in Ipswich which means that one-third of residents now have a bin for compostables. The scheme was started in 1998 when 3,000 bins were given to homes, and a further 7,000 bins were also added in September 2000.
The expansion of the scheme has been funded by the sale of shares in the innovative composting plant run with Anglian Water at the Ipswich sewage works. There, a three-tunnel system ensures that large volumes of material can be composted to produce soil improver within a two-week time frame. Over 2,500 tonnes of organic waste have been recycled at the plant so far.
Steve Waugh, Ispwich recycling officer, said: “We want to give a brown bin to everyone in the borough. We have had a fantastic response from the public, they just need something to make recycling easier.”
Under the scheme, householders are provided with a brown wheeled-bin for recycling garden and kitchen rubbish. The material from the bins is collected fortnightly and taken to the composting plant. The bins from the latest phase have come from SSI Schaefer.
The borough’s current recycling rate is 13 per cent and although the council doesn’t run any other kerbside collections it has a network of over 80 recycling sites. Mr Waugh added: “We felt that a brown bin collection was the best way to capture as much waste as possible. As we have a composting plant we are guaranteed to have an end-market for the material.”
A promotional campaign is accompanying the scheme and residents receive a newsletter which tells them when they can pick up free quantities of the soil improver.
Councillor Penny Breakwell, Member with responsibility for environment, said that the collection is operated with the customer in mind. She added: “It is clear that the brown bins are helping to reverse the habits of many who had previously considered recycling to be too difficult.”
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