County council special offer – save £££s by recycling
Warwickshire households are throwing away the equivalent of almost £450,000 per year by not recycling more, according to latest figures from the Warwickshire Waste Partnership.
On average, Warwickshire residents currently recycle 48 per cent of their waste. If this is kept at the same level, the rising cost of sending rubbish to landfill will burden the taxpayer with an additional £445,000 next year.
If each household recycled just one extra glass bottle, or equivalent weight, each week, this would achieve a five per cent increase in recycling and an annual reduction in waste of 13,400 tonnes as well as producing a total saving of £878,000 – or £3.98p to each household.
Cllr Alan Cockburn, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio Holder for Environment and Economy and Chair of the Warwickshire Waste Partnership, said: “I would like to say a huge thank you to residents for being so committed to recycling, but it is a stark fact that by not increasing the amount of household waste being diverted to recycling, people are throwing money in the bin.
“By recycling just that little bit more, residents can make a huge difference both in terms of finance and for the environment. The rising cost of landfill tax will ultimately have to be met by the taxpayer, so these figures hit home just how important it is for everyone to recycle during these tough economic times.”
There are additional costs associated with collecting household waste. For example, in Rugby borough last year waste collection cost £2.3 million - or £61.06 per household. Income from selling recyclable material goes back to the district and borough councils and is used to operate and improve their respective services.
Warwickshire County Council is running many successful waste minimisation initiatives under the Recycle for Warwickshire banner. They include the Love Food Hate Waste campaign, home composting, junk mail and the home wood chipping service. The County Council also has nine Household Waste Recycling Centres.
Recycle for Warwickshire is a Warwickshire Waste Partnership campaign dedicated to raising awareness of the need to reduce waste and informing residents on how to reduce, re-use and recycle household waste.
Landfill Tax is a levy on the disposal of waste. It aims to encourage waste producers to generate less waste by recycling or composting and using more environmentally friendly methods of waste disposal.
Currently the level of the tax, which goes directly to the Government, is £48 for each tonne of waste sent to landfill. This will rise by £8 each year.