News

TEETHING PROBLEMS FOR RECYCLING LAUNCH

It is hoped that Shepway District Council’s new integrated recycling and refuse service which started this week will be one of the country’s best performing districts for recycling, but they will first need to iron out the problems thrown up at the launch. 

The new service started across the whole district on Monday 4 July and according to Shepway Council, early indications are that over 70% of households are participating in the scheme and huge amounts of recyclable material are being collected. 

Speaking about the new service Director of Customer and Commercial Services, Jonathan Lund, said: “Telephone lines to the Civic Centre are very busy at the moment as we deal with some of the problems which the new service has thrown up. These problems include properties where we missed delivering a black box or bag, customers who want second boxes and bags and householders who didn’t receive or have misplaced their delivery calendars

“Whilst for the vast majority of customers the service is working well, we are addressing the real problems being felt by some residents who are keen to join in the scheme. We at the Council are sorry for any inconvenience the new scheme is causing and we are working hard to sort them out as they arise. We hope that residents will understand that any major service change like this will have some teething problems.

Commercial Services Manager, Rob Beck, added: “We have new refuse teams, on new rounds with new vehicles and equipment operating a very new service. We have almost been overwhelmed by the quantity of refuse being put out for recycling. Whilst this is excellent news for the environment and for the success of the recycling scheme it is testing the new teams and the new service to the full.�

Shepway Cabinet Member Councillor Shirley Newlands said: “Launching the new service across the whole of Shepway at the same time was always going to be a real challenge but it was one the Council and our contractors, Cleanaway, were happy to take up. I am delighted that so many residents are joining in this huge recycling effort and I am confident that once problems are ironed out Shepway will be one of the country’s best performing districts for recycling.�

To help cope with the very high levels of recyclable waste the Council’s contractors, Cleanaway, have brought in additional waste collection vehicles to help ensure that both refuse and recyclables are being collected on the dates promised. This does mean that some recyclables are initially being collected mixed, rather than being sorted at the kerbside, but they are then being sorted elsewhere and sent for recycling.

Black recycling boxes (for glass, tins and plastic bottles) and blue recycling bags (for paper and card) have been delivered to homes right across Shepway over the past six weeks. The new service will alternate between collecting garden waste from brown-lidded wheeled bins plus the recycling box and bag one week and household waste for landfill from green-lidded wheeled bins plus the recycling box and bag the following week. Calendars showing when the collections are taking place in each area have been delivered over the last two weeks. The information is also available from the Council’s website at www.shepway.gov.uk.