Clackmannanshire council and its contractor, Alloa Community Enterprises (ACE) announced the success of its kerbside collection, having amassed a total of 2,000 tonnes of materials recycled.
Community recyclers ACE have operated the blue box kerbside recycling scheme in the smallest Scottish county since the pilot phase in autumn 2001. In the past year, the collections have increased from 18 tonnes a week to almost 30 tonnes.
Graeme Cunningham, integrated waste manager for Clackmannanshire council, said: “It's really encouraging to see how quickly the kerbside scheme has taken off. Increasing recycling means having to change people's attitudes to their waste and the success of the kerbside has demonstrated that this is indeed possible.”
The scheme, which collects paper, glass, mixed metals and textiles, is currently being rolled out to every household in the Clackmannanshire. In 2001-02 Clackmannanshire council's recycling rate was 4.6%. The council is aiming to reach 25% by 2006 under the Scottish Executive's waste plan.
Tewkesbury hires 30 new vehicles from MHS
Tewkesbury borough council has replaced its existing fleet with 30 new municipal vehicles from Municipal Hire Services (MHS).
The vehicles will be used for waste collection, street cleaning, grounds maintenance, environmental health and leisure services in the Gloucestershire borough.
The fleet now includes 18 heavy goods vehicles fitted with fuel efficient engines which can run on low emission fuels. There are also specially designed vehicles for the kerbside collections which are currently being expanded across the borough.
MHS have also set up a new maintenance depot in Tewkesbury to provide mechanical support to the new fleet.
Waste on the timetable for Herefordshire schools
A new teacher has been hired by 13 Ross-on-Wye schools in Herefordshire to provide children with a waste awareness education programme.
The one-year pilot scheme has received 45,000 in funding from the government's Legacy Fund and the Severn Waste Environmental Fund through the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme. The project is a joint venture between the Malvern-based charity Welcome to Our Future, Herefordshire council and the Environment Agency.
Annie Ginnever, the newly appointed waste awareness teacher, said: “I'm really excited about the new project. Children learning about the issues and what they can do as individuals is key if we are to turn the world around and stop producing rubbish at the current rate.”
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