Follow the Thread on - RECYCLING - ENVIRONMENT - GREEN (2)

MOST RECENT ARTICLE - see previous page

Recomposing your Christmas Tree

5/1/15

FOLLOWING THE THREAD FROM ORIGINAL ARTICLES (Scroll down to see them)

Article Dates: Page 1

6th Aug 2014 - Tips on recycling summer items

12th Sept 2014 - Rochford seal new recycling deal with SITA UK

18h Nov 2014 - Stay warm this winter

Article Dates: Page 2

19th Nov 2014 - RDC still near top for recycling

12th Dec 2014 - Being Green at Christmas

Article Dates: Page 3

31st Dec 2014 - Be Green in 2015

5th Jan 2015 - Recomposting your Christmas Tree

RDC still near top for recycling

Rochford District Council has been named as SECOND in the entire country for its recycling rates. 

19/11/14

The authority would like to thank all our residents for being 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 65.47 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 four 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-recyclables, one for recyclables and one for compostables.

The reliable collection service run by SITA UK has also made it easier for residents to use.

 

Rochford District Council’s Portfolio Holder for the Environment, Councillor Keith Gordon, 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 three bin system that makes it as easy as possible for people to recycle, but it’s really down to our residents that we have 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’.”

 

It has also been important to keep hitting the recycling message home, with a dedicated Recycling Team who work hard to ensure residents are kept informed. Their recent ‘Rethink Rubbish’ event was a huge success – with more than 400 people attending the Mill Arts & Events Centre for a day of family fun with an educational twist.  This included a reused fashion show, a ‘recycled rhythms’ performance using rubbish to make music, and fabric and recycled art workshops.

Other initiatives have included illuminating the Rayleigh Windmill green, using the ever-popular Max the Dragon as the Council’s recycling mascot and producing a Christmas recycling song for You Tube. They also visit schools and scouts groups to ensure children are learning the recycling message from an early age. This has involved sewing lessons to encourage the reuse of clothes, making decorations from old bottles and CDs, and making fabric weaves from old rags. They also nominated resident Lorraine Allison as a ‘recycling champion,’ and achieved 100 per cent coverage of the District for electricals recycling banks.  The team also provide educational talks to community groups to continue to spread the message about which items can be recycled or reused.

 

Councillor Gordon added: “I’d like to thank our innovative Recycling Team who are always full of creative ideas to keep us on top, and ensure that our children grow up learning how important it is to recycle. Instead of lecturing to people, they really manage to make learning about being ‘green’ fun and interesting. “We also recognise that the scheme wouldn’t run as smoothly as it does without our excellent relationship with our contractors, SITA UK, who collect the waste, so I’d also like to thank them for their efforts. We’ve been at the top of the charts for four years now, which is a real achievement. It’s important that we continue to work to maintain this high level of service, so that we can keep our District among the greenest in the country.”

Chief Executive Officer of SITA UK, David Palmer-Jones, said:  “Naturally we’re very proud to play a small part in helping Rochford stay among the very top of the country’s recycling league tables and I would like to thank all of the residents of Rochford for their efforts – without which this result would not be possible.  “Rochford should feel proud of this achievement and remains in a very small minority of local authorities that recycle more than 60% of all the waste they produce – which is an aspirational target for many others.” 

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Being Green at Christmas

12 /12/14

With the festivities fast approaching here are a few simple tips from Rochford District Council’s Recycling Team to help you have a greener Christmas:

Reuse old wrapping paper and make present labels using old Christmas cards. Avoid buying glossy foil or metallic wrapping paper. You can do a beautifully wrapping job for your gifts without having to use metallic wrapping paper. This kind of 'paper' is difficult to recycle since there are heavy metals used in it. Foil gift wrap is also harder to reuse, since it wrinkles and creases easily when the gift is being unwrapped.

Think carefully about the amount of food you buy. There is lots of information about portion sizes, leftover food recipes and storage tips at www.lovefoodhatewaste.com

New clothes and electrical items as presents? Don’t forget, old and unwanted textiles and small electrical items can be recycled.

Use LED lights as they use up to 95% less energy than larger, traditional Christmas bulbs and last up to 100,000 hours when used indoors.

Give 'battery-free' gifts, discarded batteries are an environmental hazard. Even rechargeable batteries find their way into the waste stream eventually.

Save any special gift wrap, ribbons and bows. When unwrapping gifts, save the paper for reuse; it can often be cut down for smaller presents. Creased wrapping can be ironed flat. Ribbons and bows are easy to save and reuse.

Don’t forget the garden birds. Use excess cooking fat from the goose or turkey and muesli to make your own fat balls. While the fat is still warm, spoon into muffin cases; add a hanging string or make sure they fit your bird feeder.

Rochford District Council’s Portfolio Holder for the Environment, Councillor Keith Gordon said: “During the festive season I would urge residents to recycle as much as they can. We want to make sure that the Green Christmas message reaches as many people as possible so that we can continue to divert as much waste as we can away from landfill.”

For more tips on how to have a ‘Green Christmas’, you can follow the recycling team on Facebook by ‘liking’ their page Recycle for Rochford.

You can also find out more about recycling at www.rochford.gov.uk/recycling

……………………………………………………………………………………….

Top of page

Where a series of press releases follow the same subject Rochford Life will group those pages together so that you can follow the thread and look back and see how it has developed. The most recent page will be at the top of this page, but then all other articles will be in chronological order starting from the first we received.  To see all articles scroll down.