NEWS : Post

Wastesavers Recycling

As one of the first cities in Wales to introduce a kerbside recycling scheme, Newport has always been forward thinking when it comes to recycling. Working in partnership with Newport City Council, Wastesavers Recycling has been instrumental in developing the City's successful kerbside collection, which contributed towards Newport being awarded the title of the UK's Greenest City in 2007.

Wastesavers Recycling is a long-standing customer of Straight having taken delivery of more than 130,000 Ergo Kerbside Boxes. Newport's twin-box scheme has grown from a fortnightly service for 10,000 households to a weekly service for 53,000 households. Now in its tenth year, the scheme has also been rolled out to encompass residents living in rural areas and multi-occupancy accommodation.

Last year, Newport exceeded its recycling target with an overall recycling rate of 35%. Unlike some local authorities who have adapted their recycling schemes to use larger containers, Wastesavers have opted to base their scheme on Straight's 55 litre Ergo Kerbside Box as they believe that boxes are the most efficient method of maximising source separation opportunities. Using kerbside boxes enables the group to keep collection costs to a minimum. According to the Welsh Assembly Government, Wastesavers have the lowest cost recycling scheme in Wales.

A blue 55 litre Ergo Kerbside Box is used to collect paper, magazines, directories, junk mail, textiles, shoes, toner cartridges and old mobile phones and a green 55 litre box is used to collect plastic bottles, cans, tins, glass bottles and jars. Newport's high recycling rate demonstrates that the kerbside box is one of the best options for a kerbside collection and the easiest way to collect recyclables.

Paul Jones, Wastesavers Recycling Chief Executive says, "Manual handling dictates the size of the boxes we use and they have sufficient capacity to hold an average household's recyclables. The use of a box is advantageous over a wheeled bin because boxes enable us to sort materials at kerbside ensuring high quality material. The smaller capacity combined with Newport's alternate weekly collection for general waste also encourages residents to reduce their waste at source."

Last year Newport surpassed its landfill allowance target by 27%, with a kerbside diversion rate of 200kg per household per annum, making Newport one of the best performing local authorities in the UK. 2008 has seen them exceed this figure with a kerbside diversion rate of 220 kg per household per annum. Participation has greatly increased across the city due to the addition of plastics recycling and the introduction of an alternate weekly collection. The group has also just rolled out a food waste collection trial in a bid to increase its recycling rates further and hopes to retain its title of the UK's Greenest City for 2008.