Ninety-one per cent of Bournemouth’s waste was diverted from landfill in the months October to December last year. This compares with an average of 67% for other unitary authorities in England for 2012/2013.
Councillor Michael Filer, Cabinet Member for Waste said, “This is a fantastic achievement for our Waste and Recycling Team. Through a combination of new processes and awareness campaigns, they have achieved one of the highest diversion rates in England. However we continue to strive for excellence in waste and recycling, and with the launch of the food waste collections, in March for residents, and in July for businesses, we aim to increase this figure further. The food waste we collect is going to an anaerobic digestion facility that uses it to produce a high quality fertiliser and generates electricity from the town’s food waste that is linked into the National Grid. The more we can take out of the general rubbish stream, the more of our rubbish we can divert from landfill. ”
Bournemouth Borough Council was recently named as a leading waste and recycling council in the Department of Communities and Local Government’s (DCLG) ‘Bin Bible’ published earlier this year, guidance for councils on weekly bin collections. The council has maintained weekly general rubbish collections and introduced new food waste collections thanks to funding from DCLG.
Councillor Filer added, “Not only are we making sure as little of our rubbish goes to landfill as possible to protect the environment, but also it saves the Council money by reducing disposal costs. The funding we have received, which has funded all the equipment to introduce our food waste collections, has also enabled us to make long term savings so that we can maintain the high levels of service we provide to our residents.”
Further information and updates on waste and recycling are also available on the Bournemouth Borough Council website at www.bournemouth.gov.uk/recycling and on Facebook www.facebook.com/recycleforbournemouth. Residents can also call 01202 451199 for further information.
