Published on:
05
September 2003
The successful Blue Box Kerbside Recycling scheme will receive a boost on Monday with the launch of the Waste Aware Clackmannanshire campaign. The campaign to minimise waste and increase recycling follows a County wide survey carried out on behalf of the Council by Waste Aware Scotland. The survey showed 76% of Clackmannanshire residents want to recycle at the kerbside.
Since the Blue Box launch two years ago over 2,000 tonnes of household waste has been saved from landfill and recycled into new products. Now the Council wants to increase participation in the Blue Box scheme to meet future Forth Valley waste plan targets and to minimise waste.
Councillor Billy Calder, Convenor of the Council's Enterprise & Environment Committee said: "The Waste Aware Clackmannanshire campaign is a big step towards sustainability and modern waste management, I'm delighted with the success of the kerbside scheme. It has created local jobs and saved valuable resources such as glass and paper. Public awareness about waste and how it affects our community is very important to the Council as we work to protect and enhance the local environment. The Waste Aware Clackmannanshire campaign will see even more waste recovered for recycling as more people take part in the Blue Box scheme, I would encourage everyone to take part."
Anna Beswick, Campaign Assistant for Waste Aware Clackmannanshire said:"The results of the survey showed that 76% of residents wanted to recycle, our job now is to work in partnership with Clackmannanshire Council to raise participation rates even higher."
The awareness campaign will be launched on Monday, and will focus on household waste that can be recycled at the kerbside in Blue Boxes and bags. The kerbside box accepts cans, glass and textiles with a blue bag for paper The fortnightly collections are carried out on behalf of the Council by Alloa Community Enterprises.
Graeme Cunningham, Integrated Waste Manager, Clackmannanshire Council said of the campaign: "Keeping the public informed about what the Council is doing is vital to the success of our Blue Box scheme, I'm confident that the Waste Aware Clackmannanshire campaign will pay dividends with more household waste being recycled every week. We are planning to add more frequent collections and new wastes like plastic and garden waste in the months ahead. There will be further Waste Aware Clackmannanshire announcements to keep the public informed about our progress."
The Council has signed up to the Forth Valley area waste plan which has set recycling targets of 25% by 2006. Last year the Council collected over 30,000 tonnes of waste and recycled 6.5% via the kerbside scheme and its glass recycling centres and points.
For Clackmannanshire residents there is more incentive than ever to minimise waste. The Council's Black Devon landfill site will close in April 2004 and an alternative site in the Clackmannanshire area isn't on the cards. Alternative waste disposal arrangements are being jointly considered with neighbouring councils.