Recycling levels on the rise

Recycling rates in the borough have risen in the last year and the amount we send to landfill has fallen as residents are encouraged to recycle right.

The latest figures show that in 2017/18, 39.9% of household waste was recycled, reused or composted, compared to 37.4% in 2016/17. This includes waste collected from people’s homes as well as that taken to the Household Waste Recycling Centre and the bring sites across the borough. The amount sent to landfill has fallen from 24% in 2016/17 to 19.9% this year.

Part of this figure is made up of waste turned into compost with composting rates increasing slightly from 8.37% in 2016 to 8.6% this year.

It is hoped this figure will increase significantly if plans to introduce a new garden waste collection service go ahead. The council is asking residents to express an interest in the scheme, which would run fortnightly from April to November and would see residents pay a £35 annual fee to cover the running costs.

Councillor Nick Wallis, Darlington Borough Council’s cabinet member for leisure and the local environment, said: “I am pleased to see that recycling levels are increasing but there is much more that we can all do to reduce, reuse and recycle.

“The proposed garden waste collection service is part of this and if enough residents express an interest we will start it next year. This would have a big impact on the amount we compost as a borough.

“I would urge everyone to do their bit to recycle right. Everyone should have a recycling bin or caddy and it’s easy to find out what needs to be put where. As well as helping the environment, we get money for every uncontaminated tonne of recycling we collect – money we can spend on services across the borough that are anything but rubbish.”

To find out how you can recycle right visit www.darlington.gov.uk/recycleright. To find out more, and express your interest in the garden waste scheme visit www.darlington.gov.uk/gardenwaste, call 405111 or email  [email protected]