Blue waste management boxes have been issued to over 50,000 householders by contractor Serviceteam.
Seventy tonnes of paper and 30 tonnes of glass were picked up in the first week from the boxes, which are left next to residents’ wheeled bins. The scheme replaces a pilot project last year which asked residents to leave out bundles or bags of paper. Over the corresponding week in 2002, the replaced project produced just 33 tonnes of paper.
Councillor Neil Randall, who is responsible for service delivery and development, said: “This is excellent news for the environment. Residents appear to be very enthusiastic about the service. They appear to enjoy the convenience of the scheme rather than having to lug their bottles to the bottle bank.” The district’s bring sites, which continue to operate, handle a weekly average of 24 tonnes of glass.
The council estimates that around 60% of residents participated in the first week of the initiative. At present only residents living in flats are unable to take part in the kerbside scheme, although a spokeswoman for Serviceteam said it was assessing ways in which to incorporate them.
Newspapers left by residents for collection are transported to Aylesford Newsprint in Kent, while all glass goes to Midland Glass. A spokesman said the council had received no additional funding from the Government to operate the scheme.
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