The households were originally left out when 48,000 homes were given new wheeled bins to take part in the recycling scheme, because they were deemed unsuitable for storing the containers.
” While 76% of eligible households participate in our Pompey Recycling Scheme, that figure plunges to 45% for flat-fronted properties. That is something we need to address.“
– Cllr Les Stevens, Portsmouth CC
But city waste managers are now asking the residents in flat-fronted terraced properties if they would like a smaller 140-litre wheeled bin or recycling box to take part in the kerbside recycling collections.
The new containers will be funded by Portsmouth's 46,000 grant from Defra. Portsmouth's recycling scheme allows the collection of newspapers and magazines, cardboard, food and drink cans as well as plastic bottles.
Since Portsmouth rolled out its kerbside scheme to half the city from February to June 2004 – replacing green recycling boxes with wheeled bins – recycling rates have hit 22%. Portsmouth must hit a 30% rate to reach government targets for 2005/06.
Research
Cllr Les Stevens, executive member for the environment at Portsmouth, said: “Our research has shown that while 76% of eligible households participate in our Pompey Recycling Scheme, that figure plunges to 45% for flat-fronted properties. That is something we need to address.”
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The city council has already had more than 1,000 responses to the letters, and hope to deliver the new bins from now until March 2006.
Richard Johnson, the council's principal engineer for waste management, said: “We hope this will help increase our recycling rates by at least another 1% and we do enter this initiative with some optimism as we have been encouraged by the fact that a number of residents who initially declined to take a wheelie bin have no changed their minds and decided to use them.”
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