Richmond has been named as the top council out of 140 local authorities who take part in the blue bag/black box and paper bank systems which are run by Cheshire Recycling.
The council has been working with Cheshire since 1988 and in the last 13 years has recycled 60,000 tonnes of paper. The council now collects between 8 and 9,000 tonnes a year through the black box kerbside scheme. The scheme has been running in Richmond since October 1995 and collects paper, magazines, junk mail and office paper.
Miles Jefferson, of Cheshire Recycling, said: “We changed from bags to boxes because with boxes we get higher tonnages. Since the boxes were introduced in January and February tonnages have increased dramatically. Although we collected from 5,000 fewer properties, tonnages have increased by 15 tonnes a week to 110 tonnes a week.”
Cheshire Recycling is now introducing boxes in several other council areas and is looking to get involved in multi-material collections in partnership with local councils. Cheshire Recycling has recently set up multi-material schemes for glass, cans, paper and textiles in Clackmannan and Chesterfield and will shortly be launching a scheme in Knowsley.
Multi-material
Mr Jefferson said: “We are looking to get more involved with multi-material collections as it makes sense to use our collection infrastructure for a wider range of items. By increasing tonnages we can help councils hit their targets.”
Councillor Gita Rae, the council's cabinet member for sustainability, said: “The efforts of the
council in encouraging local residents and businesses to participate in Cheshire Recycling's
blue bag (now black box) scheme have succeeded. To come first out of 140 boroughs participating in the scheme is a fantastic achievement by residents.”
Ron Humphreys, managing director of Cheshire Recycling, said he was
overwhelmed with the amount of paper collected by Richmond residents. “I am thrilled to be able to donate 10,000 to Save the Children as a result of the efforts of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. The
collecting of 60,000 tonnes of waste paper is an outstanding achievement.
I would like to pass on my thanks to all the residents who participated in
the scheme.”
Cheshire Recycling is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bridgewater Paper Company. Cheshire Recycling provides kerbside collection to 1.5 million households in the UK.
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