Waste and recycling minister Joan Ruddock has today (May 23) launched a public recycling zone in Thorpe Park which will be the first part of a three year project to promote recycling on-the-go.
The initiative is being led by Coca Cola Enterprises, in collaboration with the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP), with assistance from plastics recycling charity Recoup.
“We're forecasting that, from our side of the thing, we'll be putting in £500,000 over a three-year period,” he added.
Today saw the first Recycling Zone in the scheme open at Thorpe Park in Surrey, but the aim is to provide 80 of the sites around the UK by 2011.
Mr Francis explained that “we're looking at 20 in year one, 30 in year two and 30 in year three. We're in talks with Merlin Entertainment (the owners of Thorpe Park) about opening Zones at Alton Towers, Chessington World of Adventures and Legoland Windsor”.
The focus of the Zones will be on recycling PET bottles and aluminium cans, from all brands, though Mr Francis explained that more materials could be collected according to the wishes of the owners of specific sites, with Thorpe Park's Recycling Zones also offering paper recycling.
While there are six bin locations offered at Thorpe Park, Mr Francis indicated that there would also be flexibility in this from location to location.
“The solution will depend on each location,” he said. “Each zone comprises of three big bins, within Legoland Windsor we're looking at over 30 bins.”
Vital
Heralding the launch of the initiative, Mrs Ruddock said: “With a target of increasing the national recycling rate to 40% by 2010, programmes such as the Recycling Zone from Coca-Cola Enterprises are vital to the UK hitting its targets.
“I very much welcome this initiative and hope the Recycling Zone programme, which I am delighted to launch today, ensures people recycle more, at home and on-the-go.”
Coca Cola Enterprises vice president, Erika Coghlan, said: “People often have good intentions but convenience is key. We wanted to put the Recycling Zones in locations where people need them when they're on-the-go – and make it easy for them to choose to recycle.”
Recoup will provide 15 days technical consultancy to each participating location, and Mr Francis explained that this would also involve assisting in the choice of a waste management contractor to collect the waste collected for recycling.
“The company will differ from location to location,” he said. “The package of support from Recoup will provide sufficient advice and guidance for each location and there will also advise on how to build a contract with a waste management contractor.”
Consultation
The launch of the Recycling Zones scheme is one of the first major attempts to increase on-the-go recycling after Defra's consultation on the subject came to a close in November 2007.
The paper proposed a voluntary code of practice for anyone looking to provide recycling in bins in public places, as well as a good practice guide to help promote the provision of bins.
In its March 2008 response to the consultation, Defra indicated that it would go ahead with both the initiatives it proposed in the original document, with the aim of making the two documents available as part of the Recycle Now website.
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