Success and Innovation - Recycling in Tameside
Success and Innovation
Recycling in Tameside
National research shows that people are convinced of the need to recycle - the fear of rising waste costs due to landfill and concern for the world for future generations.
However, many won't recycle unless it's made easy for them.
People are prompted into recycling action by:
- home collections
- making it quick, easy and not messy
- the feeling that they are 'doing their bit'.
In Tameside we recycle through a combination of home collections and public recycling points known as bring sites.
Home Collections
Paper
- Tameside was one of the first councils to begin home collections of waste paper - in 1995.
- We collect paper from 140-litre blue bins from 76,000 households every eight weeks - that's over 80% of homes in the borough.
- We collect paper in blue bags from a further 6,000 households every eight weeks, in partnership with local community groups.
- During 2003/04 nearly 5,000 tonnes of paper were recycled in Tameside - that's enough to cover a football pitch one metre high with paper.
Glass, Cans and Plastic
- In 2002 we introduced four-weekly home collections for glass, cans, plastic bottles and film, in our green bin scheme. To date, around 50,000 households receive this service - that's 60% of homes.
- During 2003/04, the green bin scheme collected 566 tonnes of glass, 100 tonnes of plastic and 17 tonnes of cans.
Bring Sites
- There are 62 recycling sites positioned around the borough collecting a variety of materials including paper, glass, cans, plastics, textiles and shoes.
- During 2003/04 915 tonnes of glass were collected at bring sites - more than 12% of Tameside's waste glass.
- If glass was pulverised for re-use, it would produce enough sand to fill six 25m swimming pools.
People’s Views
Latest research with our citizens panel, in spring 2004, showed:
- 70% of Tameside residents are satisfied with our recycling service
- 76% are happy with the blue bin rounds
- 81% want door-to-door recycling collections for more items - and would recycle more if they were provided.
What do we do with recycled materials?
Our aim is to 'keep it at home' - recycling goods and reusing them locally or selling them to bring money back into the borough.
By 'keeping it at home' we:
- save transport costs
- save landfill costs
- create more local employment.
The flagship of our recycling work, the Tameside Environment Centre in Ash Road, Droylsden, processes a wide range of domestic waste and features an education centre to encourage recycling from an early age.
Innovations
Our specialist glass recycling machine pulverises glass into different grades of sand - up to 1mm in diameter - which can be used by gardeners and groundsmen instead of sharp sand to aid drainage and improve the appearance of turf.
Contractors are already trialling the sand in a range of sports facilities including golf courses and bowling greens. One national sports ground contractor has expressed interest in taking a major part of our production of recycled glass sand for use around the country.
A comfortable and practical use for plastic pop bottles has also been found.
We have had benches, picnic benches, planters, fencing and litter bins manufactured from recycled plastic and made by our partners Sweepwise. All the items are in use in the Tameside area especially the benches in schools and cemeteries.
