Hounslow residents save £1.6m a year by recycling
“But more can be done”
Residents in Hounslow saved an astonishing £1.6m by recycling their waste in 2010 and avoiding landfill sites.
This was the message offered at the council’s Nice Save campaign at the Civic Centre on Friday 14 October, where staff were on hand to greet residents and offer information and access to the electric mobile recycling van currently travelling across London.
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ecycling saves money because the average cost of processing a tonne of recycling is significantly cheaper than the average cost of processing a tonne of rubbish sent to landfill. And the council can get money for every tonne of materials recycled.
The electric recycling van accepts coffee cups, news papers, plastic bottles and drinks cans, and has been travelling across London over the last few months, and in Hounslow on various occasions in the last few months.
Recycling is better for the environment. It conserves raw materials and natural resources, and helps to save energy. Rubbish sent to landfill emits methane, which is a powerful greenhouse gas. Last year Londoners recycled around 1.6 million tonnes of household waste, which means that as a city, recycling prevented roughly a quarter of a million tonnes of harmful Co2 gases being released into the atmosphere.
Residents in Hounslow are now recycling three times more than they were five years ago, and over 35% of all waste.
Cllr Corinna Smart, Hounslow Council’s cabinet member for environment (pictured above with council staff) said:
“Last year Londoners saved £30m by recycling their waste, and in Hounslow the figure was an astonishing £1.6m.
“We are now recycling over 35% of all of the borough’s waste, and this means that the amount of rubbish that we throw into landfill is dropping; great news for the environment, but also it saves us money and helps us to provide more services as a council. That’s why it’s so important to continue to get this figure higher and ensure that we do all we can to recycle as much of our waste as possible.”
If you would like to find out more about recycling in Hounslow, come to Brentford Recycling Action Group's AGM on the 22nd November.
October 20, 2011