4 January 2018 : Having a spring clean? Don’t bin your old stuff, Reuse and Recycle it!
Whether you are decluttering, or getting rid of unwanted presents after Christmas, there are lots of things you can do which will not mean throwing things away with your household waste.
The Rochford District are currently number 2 in the country for being the best recyclers so we have teamed up with Recycle for Essex to give residents even more top tips on how to make sure your old belongings don’t go to waste.
Give it away to friends and family Spread the love and pass items you no longer need to friends or family who might be able to make use of them.
Swap it for free! Freegle (https://www.ilovefreegle.org) and Freecycle are great for swapping many items. With 23 groups in Essex, there are lots of people who will want to collect your unwanted items -
Donate it to Charity! In Essex there is an extensive number of charity shops, all will accept clothing and many will accept bric-
There are also several reuse organisations across Essex which will reuse good quality items such as furniture, appliances and bicycles, why not try Hopeworx in Rayleigh, they will even collect your items.
Sell it! There are many websites and apps such as ebay, shpock and gumtree, which make it easy for you to sell your unwanted items.
Rochford District Council’s Assistant Director of Environmental Services, Marcus Hotten said: “There are many easy ways to reuse a wide range of everyday household objects and prevent them from going into landfill. Before throwing anything away, or even before you put it in the recycling bin think about how the item could be reused, selling an item on could even make you some money as well as being kinder to our environment ”.
To find out more about your local recycling scheme and tips on what to do with your waste visit www.rochford.gov.uk/recycle
12 December 2017: Council secures second spot in the recycling table again!
Rochford District Council would like to thank residents for continuing to be green following the announcement from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) which monitors waste and recycling figures.
Statistics released by DEFRA placed Rochford second in the league with a recycling rate of 63.9 per cent out of more than 350 local authorities across England. It means that residents across the Rochford District continue to be enthusiastic about recycling and ensuring as little goes to landfill as possible, meaning a greener future for all.
Since 2008, Rochford has gone from being one of the lowest performing local authorities in the country on recycling, with a rate of under 20 per cent, to one of the best, and it’s all because of the commitment shown by residents to recycling as much as possible.
The District has been in the top three for the past 9 years and has topped the table on two separate occasions.
This success has been due to residents embracing the simple ‘three bin’ system – with one bin for non-
Rochford District Council’s Portfolio Holder for the Environment, Councillor Dave Sperring, said: “It is wonderful news to hear that, once again, we are one of the top authorities in the country for recycling. We have such a simple but effective three bin system that makes it as easy as possible to recycle, but it’s really down to the actions of our residents that we have once again achieved this success. I’d like to thank everyone who takes the time to recycle and compost, so that Rochford can maintain its status as ‘the green District’.”
8 December 2017: Historic Milestone in Hall Road is reinstated
Rochford District Council are pleased to announce that the historic milestone which was temporarily removed in Hall Road, Rochford has been reinstated.
The Grade II listed milestone and was carefully removed and preserved for a period of time whilst the construction of Bellway’s new housing development got underway. Local resident Bob Burrell, a resident with a long interest in Rochford’s milestones, volunteered to keep the milestone safe for this period of time.
Cllr Ian Ward, Portfolio Holder for Planning at Rochford District Council says: “We are pleased that the milestone is back in its home of Hall Road after all this time. It is a prominent historic feature in the district and we had many enquiries from the public regarding when it would be reinstated. I would also like to thank Bob Burrell for keeping the milestone safe after all this time.”
10 November 2017 Rochford District Council Crackdown on Flytipping
Rochford District Council are reminding fly tippers that they are being watched as the council reveal they have had a successful year in cracking down on flytipping and littering offences.
Rochford District Council have had one successful prosecution and issued 4 fines for littering/fly tipping offences this year.
Fly tipping is a serious criminal offence and the courts have various powers available to them to tackle fly tipping, including imprisonment, substantial fines of up to £50,000, orders to pay costs and an order to deprive rights to a vehicle used to commit the offence.
Householders should ensure that all their waste is disposed of via their wheeled bins, the recycling banks around the district, the recycling centres for household waste, or the council’s chargeable bulky waste collection service.
Business premises have a duty to ensure that their waste is stored and disposed of lawfully. Section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 requires businesses to make sure that they only transfer waste onto an authorised person in order to dispose of it correctly.
To report a case of fly tipping, or to enquire about a bulky waste collection, please contact Customer Services on 01702 318111.
September 2017: Council introduce a new Twitter Account for Public Health
Rochford District Council would like to announce the launch of their new Twitter feed which has been set up to keep residents up to date with the latest national and local Public Health news.
Our team at Rochford District Council will ‘tweet’ regular updates and work in partnership with other departments and organisations so that our ‘followers’ will have the most up to date news on all things Public Health!
Andrew Lowing, Strategic Partnership Officer at Rochford District Council says “Setting up this Twitter feed is a great way to get any Public Health updates and alerts out there as the demand for information via social media increases.
“Residents should be aware of news which could affect their health as well as having easy access to all the advice to encourage healthy lifestyle choices. “Signing up is really easy, just follow @RDCPublicHealth on Twitter and feel free to share and join in the conversations”.
September 2017: Council launch ‘Safe at Home’ grant for residents living with dementia in the district
As a member of the new Rochford Dementia Action Alliance, Rochford District Council are pleased to announce that access to a new grant is being made available to support local residents living in their home with a dementia diagnosis.
Those affected by dementia can apply for the ‘Safe at Home’ grant, which can be up to £1000, to make improvements to their homes. The grant, which is funded through Public Health, is designed to help residents and their carers, cope with the challenges of living with the condition.
The grant can cover adaptions within the home such as:
Replacing floor coverings that cause confusion or safety issues
Replacing tiling or bathroom fittings (such as toilet seats and rails) to improve visual perception.
Changing cupboards to glass fronted doors, to enable recognition of where items are in the kitchen
Changing lighting schemes to improve visibility around the home
Installing noise reduction measures
Ensuring gardens and paths are level and free from hazards
Residents who would like to apply for the grant will need to complete a simple application form accompanied with a letter from their GP or Health Specialist confirming a diagnosis.
Andrew Lowing, Strategic Partnership Officer at Rochford District Councils says: “We are pleased that this grant is now in place to help residents who are living with dementia. Not only will it help to make their homes safer but it is will also help residents self-
For more information and to apply, please contact 01702 318061 or email communityplanning@rochford.gov.uk.
September 2017: New ‘Helpful Box’ for those moving into temporary accommodation
Rochford District Council are pleased to announce a new partnership with Hawkwell Baptist Church to provide a ‘Helpful Box’ for those homeless families and individuals who are being supported to move into emergency temporary accommodation.
The purpose of the box is to provide a ‘helping hand’ during a time what is often difficult and stressful. Hawkwell Baptist Church are funding the scheme which builds on their existing work to collect and manage the distribution of the supplies to those residents most in need.
The ‘Helpful Box’ will be issued to families and individuals based on their housing situation and needs. Boxes can include items such as food essentials, toiletries, utensils and linen.
Rochford District Council’s Portfolio holder for the Community Cllr Mike Webb said: “This new partnership with Hawkwell Baptist Church is a great way to offer assistance to those who are going through difficult times.Sometimes it can be the simplest of gestures which can make such a difference to people’s lives and thanks to the generosity of Hawkwell Baptist Church and work by our Housing Options officers means we can now offer this scheme to some of our most vulnerable residents”.
The Housing Options officers at Rochford District Council will continue to work closely with residents who are homeless making the transition into emergency temporary accommodation as easy as possible.
September 2017 New Benefits Initiative
In a new initiative to speed up processing times, Rochford District Council’s Revenues and Benefits Department will be investing more of its staffing resources into assessing benefit claims and Council Tax enquiries.
In order to provide greater focus on ensuring residents claims are not held up unduly, the team will be offering a half day counter service so they can dedicate the remainder of the day to dealing with correspondence including adjusting council tax accounts, and benefit claims.
The changes will start on Tuesday 12 September with the following opening times:
Mondays to Tuesdays 8:30 am – 12 noon
Wednesdays 12pm -
Thursdays to Fridays 8:30 am – 12 noon
Rochford District Council’s Portfolio Holder for Governance, Cllr Cheryl Roe said ; “We appreciate that some of our most vulnerable residents use this service and that claims need to be assessed as quickly as possible. We hope that this move to dedicate more members of staff to this function will result in a faster and more efficient process.
“Residents can still contact the team throughout the day by email and we now have wider range of digital channels for them to get the information and support they need without having to come into the offices”.
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