How Future Plans for Recycling will affect Cheddington
The Present Situation
We have come a long way from the single weekly dustbin collection of 20 or 30 years ago.
Today, in addition to:-
(1) the weekly ‘green bin’ waste collection;
We now also have:-
(2) a fortnightly ‘black basket’ collection for (a) paper and (b) tin cans and all food plastics (except carrier bags, film and expanded polystyrene;
(3) every four weeks, glass is collected in a ‘green box’.
In addition to these collections, the following options are also currently available:-
(4) People may buy a subsidised home composter for disposing of kitchen peelings etc, garden waste and cardboard. (To find out about a subsidised composter, visit www.recyclenow.com/compost or call 0845 077 0760.)
(5) There are 95 ‘bring sites’ across the district that accept materials including paper, cans, bottles and jars, foil, cardboard and textiles. (For more details visit www.aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk/recycling .)
Future Changes
The next development for residents of Cheddington, in around 1 ½ years, will be the introduction of the ‘brown bin’. Into this will go all kitchen waste (including cooked food, meat, fish and dairy products), garden waste and cardboard. (Those people with home composters already dispose of much of this waste themselves.)
The Council’s collection timetable will then change to the following pattern:-
(1) A ‘green bin’ collection every two weeks (for rubbish that cannot be recycled or composted); alternating with
(2) A ‘brown bin’ collection every two weeks (for rubbish that can be composted) - i.e. there will be a green bin collection one week and a brown bin the next week and so on.
(3) ‘Black basket collections for (a) paper and (b) for plastic and tins every two weeks, as at present.
(4) A ‘green box’ collection for glass every four weeks as at present.
Any combination of up to 3 additional baskets or boxes is still available, for which a nominal total charge of £2:00 is made. Further additional containers are charged at £2:00 each.
Questions
Q. What effect will the change to a fortnightly collection of the ‘green bin’ have on me?
A. Not much – your ‘green bin’ will have less and less in it as more of your waste is recycled by you.
Q. Why can’t my kitchen waste, which can rot quickly in hot weather, be collected weekly?
A. If you really feel something needs to be taken away in the next weekly collection, you may put it in either your ‘green bin’ or in your ‘brown bin’, whichever is due for collection next. However, usually, it should be possible, without any problems arising, to put this waste into your ‘brown bin’ for fortnightly collection, and you will then have the satisfaction of knowing that this waste will be recycled into fertilizer for use locally rather than going to landfill where it produces gases that add to climate change.
Q. So my ‘green bin’ will have smaller and lighter contents than ever?
A. Yes, and you will have the satisfaction of doing even more to secure the future of our planet for future generations. It really is that important.
Q. When is this going to happen?
A. Not before April 2009 and it may be much later. The changes were originally scheduled to commence in April 2008. However, councils are as subject to acquiring planning permission as the rest of the population. As such, the preferred site in the district was refused and now another site is being considered.
Published: 25 January 2008