Target Set for Waste Reduction in National Recycle Week

Opposition say council is unambitious and has failed to meaningfully boost recycling

Efforts being made to boost awarenss of how to recycle. Picture: Lambton 360

The 19th annual National Recycle Week is taking place from Monday 17 October – Sunday 23 October and it has sparked competing claims of how successful the borough’s recycling efforts have been.

The awareness week’s mission is to encourage everyone in the UK to reduce their carbon footprint and protect the environment by recycling things the right way, and much more often.

The council says that improving recycling rates is one of its top priorities and it is aiming to achieve a 37% recycling rate by the end of the financial year 2022/23. Going further, Hounslow’s Reduction and Recycling Plan targets recycling rates of 45% by 2025, and 50% by 2030.

The council notes that residents appear to be getting the message. It has seen:

• 16% more recycling collected between March 2020 to April 2021.
• 21,947 tonnes recycled between April 2021 – March 2022.
• A 6% year-on-year increase in cardboard recycling collected in April 2021 – March 2022.

Throughout National Recycle Week and beyond, Hounslow Council is encouraging its residents and businesses to remember the little things they can do to have a big impact on cutting down on all types of waste.

This includes:
• Residents separating paper and card in the blue box to make it easier for the recycling crews to sort this at the collection vehicle, enhancing the value recovered downstream.
• Aerosol cans being completely empty before being recycled in the red box.
• Residents never disposing of hidden batteries or electricals in rubbish or recycling bins.

Hounslow Council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Climate, Environment and Transport Strategy, Councillor Kathrine Dunne, said, “Hounslow, and its partners, are proud to support the National Recycle Week campaign. Recycling is a key collective action we can all take to reduce unnecessary waste. It helps protect our environment, reduces carbon emissions and cuts costs too.

“However, recycling is a habit for life, not just for Recycle week. We will continue to offer innovative, convenient, and cost-effective recycling solutions for all residents in Hounslow throughout the year. And by getting involved with weekly recycling, residents play such a meaningful part in creating a greener and cleaner Hounslow.”

Dan Smyth, Director for Recycle 360 & Sustainability in Lampton, said, “Recycle 360 is proud to have been serving Hounslow residents for six years, collecting a wide range of recyclables and sorting and bulking them for sale from our state-of-the-art Materials Handling Facility in the borough. The facility has capacity to handle more material and we know that there is still a lot of recyclable and food waste finding its way into residents’ refuse bins. Not only does it cost the Council more to dispose of refuse, but by not recycling we lose the potential to generate more income from sales to help offset collection costs.

“We are also pleased to finally launch our business recycling collection services. We have new customers coming on board every day, and they have all been impressed by the quality and reliability of the service, especially compared to other operators who really let businesses down through the pandemic.”

However, the opposition in the borough is questioning how effective the Labour administration has been in boosting recycling. “When the Conservatives were in power in Hounslow, we more than doubled the borough’s recycling rate from 17% to 35% in in just 4 years," said Peter Thompson, Leader of the Conservative group on Hounslow Council and Councillor for Chiswick Riverside. "The Labour council’s target of reaching 37% is not just unambitious, it shows they have completely failed to improve our borough’s recycling over their past 12 years in power. Given this failure, I have very little confidence that they will reach their 2025 target.”

The Council says it is spending £3.8m to tackle waste, litter, and improve recycling rates with its partners West London Waste Authority and Lampton Recycle 360.

It was also recently recognised for its Flats Communal Food Waste Service, which has seen 24,100 households across 218 sites benefitting from the service, and has generated disposal cost savings of more than £57,000 this year alone. The project received a nomination for the National Recycling Awards.

Businesses in the borough are also being helped to recycle more and manage waste more efficiently through services such as Lampton Recycle 360’s commercial collection service. It offers a range of recycling services, including specialist advice to help reduce business costs.

October 21, 2022