22 January 2009

Residents' recycling rates on a pilot scheme in Guildford are so high the borough could be among the top recyclers in the country when the scheme is rolled out borough-wide this autumn.

Latest figures from the Recycling Works trial show that since the start of the scheme a year ago residents on the trial are recycling an impressive 64% of all their rubbish. 

Lead Councillor for Environment, Cllr Jenny Wicks, explains: "Normally we would expect recycling levels to fall slightly after the first few weeks of a trial but these figures show that we are bucking the trend. I would like to congratulate all residents on the scheme and thank them for blazing the trail and demonstrating just what can be achieved. This is a good sign for the phased borough-wide expansion of the scheme which will start this October.

"If this performance is repeated across the borough then Guildford would be among the leading recyclers in the UK and Europe. If we also take into account the garden waste that residents compost in their own gardens then our recycling rate would be over 75%," adds Cllr Wicks.

Local people on the trial have weekly collections of their purple and green recycling boxes, a weekly collection of food waste, the option of a bi-weekly collection of garden waste (for a small fee), and bi-weekly collection of any remaining waste that cannot be recycled or composted from a wheeled bin.

Feedback from residents on the trial has shown support for it is extremely high with 92% of respondents happy for the scheme to continue.

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