Council to review kerbside recycling

Malvern Hills' kerbside recycling methods are about to be reviewed with the aim of increasing the amount of household waste that is recycled after latest forecasts indicate that council recycling targets will not be achieved.

The council recognises the huge improvement in recycling made by local residents but this improvement needs to go further to meet local and national recycling targets. The Malvern Hills recycling rate has increased from 28% in March 2009/10 to 33.2% during 2011/12 but forecasts indicate that performance remains short of the target of 38.5% recycling by 2014. The most recent forecast indicates that the target will be missed by around 2%.

Councillor Bronwen Behan, Portfolio Holder for Environmental Control at MHDC said:

“Residents have done a fantastic job in embracing the whole ethos of recycling but the rate has now reached a plateau.  We now want to consult with our residents as we need to know what people think about recycling in the district and try and make changes that encourage an increase in our recycling tonnages. We also want to make sure that any improvements to our recycling service will enable us to maintain our highly valued weekly black sack collection”

The council will embark on a research exercise which will see a representative selection of householders being asked what they think of the current recycling arrangements and what could be done to improve recycling collections.   Around 1,700 residents will be contacted, at random - this represents 5% of the population of Malvern Hills and will include those living in both urban and rural areas and a selection of property types.

From the 13^th June to the 30^th June the council’s research team will be knocking on doors across the district asking residents’ opinions on recycling and ways to improve the yield. The team will wear high visibility vests and carry photographic ID along with a letter of authority issued by the council.  The local police will also be informed about the research and will be fully briefed on team member’s details. If you are in any doubt as to the authenticity of the individuals please contact the councils call centre on 01684 862151.