The council has particularly praised waste management company Weymouth and Sherborne Recycling, which runs five of the county's eight sites in Dean, Redbridge, Drayton, Standford in the Vale and Oakley Wood.
Stanford in the Vale site is perceived as the jewel in the council's crown, recycling 70% of the materials brought to the facility in 2005/06.
The performance of the centres helped Oxfordshire to recycle a third of all household waste produced in the financial year 2005/06. The 33% recycling rate represented a three percentage point rise on the 2004/05 result.
Commenting on the performance, Fay Dashper, waste contracts officer for Oxfordshire county council, said: “Weymouth and Sherbourne is a fantastic company, it is a lot smaller than most of the companies that I deal with, so I can talk with the directors and get direct action.”
Refurbishment
Oxfordshire county council is now working with its other three contractors in an attempt to bring the other sites up to the WAS standard. Last year a Waste Recycling Group run facility at Dix was refurbished and is now achieving 60%.
This week will see Viridor's facility at Ardley Fields closed for a month for improved signage and education. In 2005/06 the site recycled 39.85% of its waste – the lowest in the county – and Ms Dashper explained that the changes were intended to push the site above the 60% mark.
| Related links: |
She added: “Our other facility at Alkerton, run by SITA, could also be re-signed. New signage has a positive effect on recycling rates.” The Alkerton site recycled 45% in 2005/06.
Residents in Oxfordshire can take batteries, televisions, fridges and freezers, computer monitors, plastics, soil, rubble, timber, green waste, cardboard, paper, light bulbs, fluorescent tubes, glass, metals, foils and cans at the sites.
Register for free to comment