The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Mr Eric Pickles MP, has visited the Rayleigh Civic Suite to hear about Rochford District Council’s successful Maximise Recycling Scheme.
Mr Pickles met with Rayleigh and Wickford MP, Mr Mark Francois, Rochford and Southend East MP Mr James Duddridge, The Leader of Rochford District Council, Councillor Terry Cutmore, Rochford District Council’s Portfolio Holder for the Environment, Councillor Michael Steptoe and the Former Portfolio Holder for the Environment, Mr Michael Starke at the Rayleigh Civic Suite and heard how residents in the District helped make the scheme a huge success.
Following the meeting, the Member of Parliament for Rayleigh and Wickford, Mr Mark Francois, said: “Residents in the Rochford District can be proud of the fact that they now have the most successful recycling scheme in the entire country and that is largely due to their positive spirit in recycling so eagerly.
I am very grateful that the Secretary of State, Eric Pickles, took time during the summer recess to leave his office in London to come down and see what people in this District have been able to achieve with the help of Rochford District Council.”
The Member of Parliament for Rochford and Southend East, Mr James Duddridge, added: “Having the Secretary of State visit Rochford District during recess is recognition of the fantastic achievement of the Council in implementing the most successful recycling scheme in the entire country.
The tireless work from the officers, councillors and don’t forget the residents within the District have enabled this scheme to be a success and a model I am sure authorities the country over will aspire to deliver.”
The Leader of Rochford District Council, Councillor Terry Cutmore, continued: “Rochford District Council is committed to making a difference to our environment and it was a pleasure to be able to demonstrate to a senior Government minister all the hard work we and our residents have put in to make our recycling system so successful.
I am sure he enjoyed his visit and has seen how the residents of the Rochford District have made our Maximise Recycling Scheme such a success.”
August 10th, 2010 at 8:15 pm
I don’t think this recycling scheme is that great. People still do not know what to put in the bins and the bin men just collect everything without checking. The Council collect the kitchen waste and that is composted as I have been told. Well, I am a vegetarian and I have a question about all the meat collected. I am concerned about this can affect me and people from religions like Judaism and Islam. Surely this compost goes back to our soil.
August 11th, 2010 at 1:49 pm
Dear Ms Weir,
Thank you for your enquiry. When the scheme began in July 2008, residents were provided with an information booklet to assist with what items go in each bin. Additionally, each of the wheelie bins had a sticker placed on the lid, that gave a basic overview of what each bin accepts. Since 2008, Rochford Council has continued to update our website (http://www.rochford.gov.uk/recycle) with useful information on the scheme, including an ‘A to Z of Recycling Materials’, which gives a fuller list of common (and some not so common) items and advises which bin they can be recycled in, or where they can be recycled outside the scheme (i.e. charity shops, Household Recycling Centres).
If you do not have a copy of the Information booklet or you would like replacement bin stickers, please let us know and I will arrange for a set to be posted out to your address.
To avoid contamination in the recyclable and compostable wheelie bins, the crews check every bin before they are emptied into the lorry, with any contaminated bins (recyclable and/or compostable bins that contain materials that cannot be recycled or composted) being left unemptied, with a note put on the lid to let the residents know why the bin(s) were left.
The compostable waste that is collected from households around the district contain a mix of garden waste, meat, fish, bones, tea bags, vegetables, fruit and other food waste. The compostable waste is treated and turned into soil improver in Cambridgeshire, and distributed out to the local farmers there. Unfortunately, there isn’t a way to separate the meat and vegetables/fruit before it is composted, and Rochford Council isn’t able to find out what the soil improvers the local farmers use in the District are made from.
I hope the above information has been useful, and please do not hesitate to contact Customer Services should you have any further queries – tel: 01702 318111
email: customerservices@rochford.gov.uk
Kind regards