Speaking to letsrecycle.com today, a spokesman for the council explained that, despite negative coverage about alternate weekly collections in the national media, they were something which helped the council to reach a 58.4% recycling rate in 2007-08 (see letsrecycle.com story).
East Lindsey council also attributed the sudden success of its recycling service to a WRAP-funded £120,000 communications campaign which was rolled out in conjunction with the collection service and entitled “No Time To Waste”, which alerted residents to the fact that sending waste to landfill would be increasingly expensive for the council.
Councillor Dick Edginton, East Lindsey's portfolio holder for amenities, said: “Education has been at the heart of our approach to recycling. We have given recycling advice to thousands of families and attended many community events to encourage residents to come on board with this lifestyle changing project.
“We couldn't have wished for a better response. This is a great achievement for both residents and the council,” he added.
The council also pointed to the fact that it offered assisted waste and recycling collections to 6,000 residents which helped them to participate in collections even if they could not lift their bins themselves – a common problem in East Lindsey, which has a relatively elderly population.
In 2006 East Lindsey was 285th in the English recycling league table and in 2007 it was 95th. This latest dramatic increase has allowed the district to snatch the title from the long-time holders of top spot, North Kesteven.
Now East Lindsey is hoping to maintain its leading national position.
Interestingly, the council does not currently collect glass or food waste at the kerbside, meaning that there could be more scope to raise recycling rates, as well as raising questions over the theory of a 60% recycling ceiling.
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