General Enquiries:
Great Yarmouth Borough Council
Town Hall
Hall Plain
Great Yarmouth.
NR30 2QF.

Tel:
01493 856100

E-mail:
enquiries@great-yarmouth.gov.uk

PR 207

28 June 2006

For immediate release

The residents of Great Yarmouth have taken to recycling like a duck to water - and beaten a Government target.

Figures released this week to the Borough Council shows that a target to recycle 18 per cent of domestic waste has been surpassed with the figure reaching 18.9 per cent.

The Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) set Great Yarmouth’s target back in March 2003. At that time the Council was only recycling 7.4per cent of its waste and so a great deal of work was necessary.

“Figures show that we collected 7,000 tonnes of recyclable materials between April 2005 and March this year - a significant rise from the 4,800 tonnes collected during the previous 12 months,” said Rob Cole Recycling and Waste Minimisation Officer.

The first move was to introduce green boxes to 16,000 homes, followed by the successful wheelie bin introduction which is now being used across the Borough.

The green wheelie bins have seen a huge increase in the amount of materials being recycled and a large proportion of residents have supported the scheme tremendously.

“Surpassing the target is fantastic news,” added Rob. “To pass 18 per cent is a real achievement.

“Everyone who is recycling - in their wheelie bin, at bottle banks or from taking their old bits and bobs to charity groups can take a great deal of credit for this.

“Residents have really shown through their actions that recycling is an important issue to them and this year Great Yarmouth has recycled much more than ever before.”

“However, we must build upon this fantastic effort and continue to reduce, re-use and recycle our waste as much as we can. DEFRA has already increased our next recycling target to 20 per cent and we can be sure an even greater figure will be asked of us in the future.”

It is possible to recycle paper, cardboard, steel and aluminium food and drink cans, plastic bottles and aerosol cans in the green wheelie bins. There are also more than 60 sites for glass bottle recycling across the Borough and residents can find where their nearest bottle bank is, as well as lots of other hints, tips and information on recycling here.

For further information call Rob Cole, Recycling and Waste Minimisation Officer or Bob George, Waste Management Officer on 01493 846441.

Issued by:
Liz Dann
Press Officer
Great Yarmouth Borough Council
01493 846513