The city’s revised recycling and refuse collecting operation seems to be delivering a bonus.
The Council says recycling rates in Bath and North East Somerset have jumped with around 100 tonnes of waste now being recycled each day, thanks to the support of residents.
Figures show crews collected almost 450 tonnes of recycling last week ten tonnes more each day – since the new waste service started on November 6.
And there has been a big reduction in the general rubbish collection with less each day going into the black wheelie bins and reusable rubbish bags.
Cllr Bob Goodman (Conservative, Combe Down), Cabinet Member for Development & Neighbourhoods, said: “These are fantastic figures and I hope they will continue to improve. We want to thank everyone for helping with this transition to the new service and for bearing with us during some teething problems.
“This was one of the biggest changes to our waste collection service. Crews have had to learn new routes and an increase in tonnage on recycling trucks means some recycling rounds are currently being picked up the following day. These are short-term issues which we are resolving and we want to thank people for their patience.”
Figures show a phenomenal number of green boxes and food caddies being ordered with around 6,000 due to be delivered or collected from recycling centres.
And more than 5,000 people have signed up for Bath & North East Somerset Council’s weekly text reminder service – helping people avoid any confusion about the right day to put their recycling and waste out.
Councillor Goodman added: “We’ve got additional staff and trucks delivering containers, but it may take a few weeks to get to everyone. If you don’t want to wait, you can collect them from the council’s recycling centres in Bath, Keynsham and Midsomer Norton. Alternatively, you can continue to put your recycling out in other suitable containers while you are waiting.”
Bath & North East Somerset Council is only delivering recycling containers on request.
If you’re confused about the new service, go to www.bathnes.gov.uk/recycle where B&NES have more than 30 FAQs to help deal with most of the questions you may have.
An information pack, which was delivered with the bin/bag includes a calendar showing new collection days. You can also check your collection day by going to http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/checkcollection
Remember that you can recycle as many as 17 different types of recyclable items – including food waste – from your kerbside weekly. Take a look at the Council’s festive 12 recycling tips for Christmas https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDkZaiJ2zAE
