A UK council is leading the way in helping its residents recycle more batteries and small electrical items. Sandwell Council, a metropolitan borough in the West Midlands that includes the town of West Bromwich, has joined forces with its waste partner Serco in a new, expansive collection scheme.
The scheme is designed to boost the borough’s recycling rates and reduce landfill taxes. Sandwell Council already has one of England’s best recycling rates, up from 29% in 2009 to almost half of all domestic waste in 2012.
Now residents will be able to recycle even more waste products from the comfort of their own home. Each home in the borough will receive a starter pack that contains an information leaflet on exactly what can be recycled, a large bag for electrical items and a small bag for batteries. Any batteries can be left out for recycling on the usual collection days with uplift arranged for the larger electrical items by telephone.
The new scheme is a great opportunity for both residents and the council to improve the borough’s recycling rates. Anyone who has used batteries at home that are just lying at the back of a drawer or in a cupboard can get rid of them with little or no effort. And any broken or unwanted electrical items that might once have attracted a fee when uplifted will be removed at the cost of only one call to an 0845 number.
The Sandwell/Serco scheme has been given funding of £1.06million by the UK Government’s Department of Communities and Local Government to improve the council’s recycling services over a three-year period.
Sandwell Council is also behind a Go Green Reward scheme in which residents are encouraged to boost recycling rates with the carrot of a financial investment by the council in their local community.
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