Recycling scheme to be rolled out to another 40,000 homes (From Salisbury Journal)

Recycling scheme to be rolled out to another 40,000 homes

10:00am Monday 21st January 2013 in Headlines By Miranda Robertson

THE next 40,000 households to have Dorset’s new recycling service are set to get a letter outlining the changes.

The Dorset Waste Partnership (DWP) is writing to households in north and east Dorset this month about major changes to their recycling and rubbish collections.

The Recycle for Dorset service, which was introduced in Christchurch and part of East Dorset in October, will be rolled the rest of East Dorset from June 10.

During January, people in North Dorset and parts of East Dorset including Alderholt, Corfe Mullen, Cranborne, Holt, Sixpenny Handley, Sturminster Marshall, Wimborne St Giles and surrounding villages will receive a letter and leaflet introducing the new service and what it means for them.

The new bins should be suitable for most households. But if there is a reason why the containers will not meet a household’s specific needs, or if people need help moving them, they should contact the partnership before February 28 to request an exception or assisted collection.

Households also need to contact the DWP before the end of February if they do not currently have a recycling box, as they will need one to collect glass when the new service starts.

Councillor Hilary Cox, chairman of the Dorset Waste Partnership joint committee, said: “The new service is clean, easy-to-use and enables people to recycle more at home, including plastic pots, tubs and trays.

“It’s also flexible. While most households should have no problems using the new service, there will be genuine reasons why the standard containers will not be suitable for everyone and we may be able to agree suitable alternatives.”

The new service includes a weekly collection of cooked and uncooked food waste using a 23-litre outdoor bin and a seven-litre kitchen caddy, and fortnightly collection of recycling using a 240-litre wheelie bin for plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays, paper and cardboard, tins and cans and aerosols plus residents’ existing recycling box for glass and a small, reusable bag for batteries and a fortnightly collection of rubbish using a 140-litre wheelie bin.

There is also an optional garden waste collection, run fortnightly all year round and costing £35 a year for a 240-litre wheelie bin or £25 a year for a reusable 120-litre bag.

DWP director Steve Burdis said: “If you would like to receive a garden waste collection starting in June, you need to pay by the end of February to avoid disappointment. If you apply later, your collection may not start until the autumn.”

The scheme hopes to cut costs by £2m a year, reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill and increase Dorset’s recycling rate from 50 per cent to more than 65 per cent by 2016.

l A Recycle for Dorset roadshow is on January 31 at Alderholt Village Hall from 1.30pm to 4.30pm.