Merton Council makes it easier for people who live in flats to recycle

(19/01/2010)

Merton Council is now enabling residents in blocks of 10 or more flats with communal recycling bins to mix all recyclable materials together. Residents will now be able to place all their recyclable waste into the same bin, which will be collected once a week and transported to a large recycling facility in Dartford to be sorted into their material types and then recycled into new products.

The move to one bin for all recyclable materials follows the success of the council's mixed recycling collection for houses which was implemented earlier this year. The change should help further increase Merton's recycling rate, which at 33% is currently above our target for this year. However, to meet the tighter year-on-year targets set by central government and the EU, Merton must continually increase further its recycling and composting rate and reduce the amount we send to landfill.

Local councils have to pay a tax for every tonne of waste they send to landfill. The amount of tax that a council has to pay depends on the weight of the material the council sends to landfill and the kind of waste the council is disposing of. The standard rate of landfill tax is £40 per tonne and this is set by central government to increase by £8 each year.

The council is notifying all residents who will be affected by the change. Details of what can and can not be recycled are on the council's website.

Merton Council cabinet member for environment and leisure services, Councillor David Simpson said: "We always work to put the needs of our residents first and are therefore striving to make it easier for everyone to recycle so that they in turn can help Merton continue to be renowned as a green borough. Environmental sense makes financial sense too. Recycling more means the council spends less on sending waste to landfill. This means we can invest the large sums of money that would go on landfill tax in our waste collection and recycling services instead thereby continuing to ensure value for money for Merton's council taxpayers."

Related categories:  Glass recycling   Metal recycling   Paper and cardboard recycling   Plastic recycling   Recyclable materials