News in brief

Bath and North East Somerset council is set to run a six month campaign to encourage local residents to recycle paper and card correctly.

The council believes that many people are surprised with the different types of paper they collect in their recycling boxes.

Councillor Gerry Curran, Executive member for sustainability, said: “Many people are used to recycling newspapers and magazines through their green box. But fewer people are aware of the range of paper we collect and a lot of people get confused about what to do with their cardboard. The aim of this campaign is to help people have a clearer understanding of what we collect so they can make the most of the services we offer.”

Northumberland county council's planning and regulation committee has given the go ahead for two recycling sites in the county to be extended.

The county's waste transfer station at Hexham currently handles around 20,000 tonnes of waste per annum. However Northumberland wants this to reach 36,000 tonnes.

And the household waste recycling centre site at Bridge End industrial estate is to be expanded to allow for additional materials as well as a covered area for the bulking of glass, plastic bottles, cans and garden waste.

A waste expert is to analyse 700 household bins in County Durham in a bid to better understand the types and quantities of materials thrown away by its residents.

Starting this month environmental consultancy Resource Futures will be collecting and taking away waste and recyclables from households and the county's household waste recycling centres.

Councillor Brian Myers, Durham county council's cabinet member for waste management, said: “Different areas do not necessarily produce the same kind of waste, by looking at exactly what people throw out over the seasons we can tailor-make a service to meet the needs of the individual district rather than a one-size-fits-all service for everyone.”

Leeds city council has started rolling out brown bins to residents as part of a trial garden waste collection service.

Residents in five districts will receive bins gradually over five months, with collections starting this month. The council hopes that the service will help it to avoid fines of 217 million in 2020 under the Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme.

Councillor Steve Smith, executive member responsible for waste management, said: “By collecting this waste separately and composting it, the amount of waste going to landfill will be reduced significantly and will contribute towards our ambition to become a zero-waste city.”

Brent council is to push the recycling message to its residents with the aid of 11 local “recycling champions”.

The specially selected residents will be visiting 12,000 homes in October to give five minute talks on how people living in Brent should use their kerbside recycling service.

According to the council, the reason for the doorstepping is because some residents are including recyclable materials in the council's green waste bin by mistake.

Councillor Irwin Van Colle – lead member for environment, planning and culture – said: “We do want people to recycle glass jars and bottles, but they should be put in the box with newspapers and not in the green bin.”