Mid Beds Residents Make Top Two
In the two year period from April 05 to March 07, the amount of waste collected per head in Mid Beds has reduced by 17.22%.
In figures released yesterday by DEFRA, Mid Beds achieved the eighth largest decrease (8.52%) in the total household waste per resident for 2006/07.
In 2005/06, Mid Beds also achieved a decrease of 8.7%, making a total of 17.22%, only a little behind top performers Bridgnorth ( in the West Midlands) at 19.05%.
Mid Beds place waste minimisation as its highest priority over achieving recycling figures. Unlike some other authorities, we do not operate limitless garden waste collections in order to inflate performance, but instead encourage home composting as the most sustainable option. Around 17,000 compost bins have been provided to Mid Beds residents over the last few years, with 2100 being delivered this year alone.
Overall recycling in Mid Beds for 2006/07 stands at 32.96%. This figure includes both dry recycling (paper, glass, cans and plastic bottles) and garden waste.
Councillor Budge Wells, Environmental Services PortfolioHolder said: "Residents in the district can be justly proud that they are doing their bit for minimising waste and helping the environment.
"Their co-operation has led to our continuosly improving results. We hope residents will continue to work with us to achieve even more in the future and we will continue to provide as much support and advice as we can.
"Residents can do their bit by: home composting; buying food and goods with minimal packaging; re-using plastic bags; placing only accepted recyclables in their green lidded bins or orange sacks; using real nappies and reducing unnecessary food wastage."
If residents are not sure what are accepted recyclables, they can check out our website www.midbeds.gov.uk or call our customer contact centre on 01462 611222 or 08452 30 40 40 for advice.
