Monday 20 June 2011

Recycle Week - Green councillor Pete West spends a day with refuse collectors and says more recycling of household waste is possible and will save landfill tax

June 17 2011. Ahead of National Recycle Week, which runs from June 20 to 26, Councillor Pete West, Brighton & Hove City Council's Cabinet Member for Environment and Sustainability, accompanied refuse and recycling crews on their rounds to see collections at first hand. He said much more could be done toward recycling in Brighton and Hove.

He said: "For every tonne of waste that goes to landfill, the council has to pay £56 in Landfill Tax - that's council taxpayers' money which could be much better spent elsewhere."

"Many people are already recycling, but there is more that can be done - from going out with a refuse crew on their round earlier this month I know that materials that can be recycled are still being put out in refuse bins. There are lots of ways we can all make a difference and cut waste, whether it is by reusing items, for example, by giving them to a charity or community group which can make use of them, or recycling using the 'black box' doorstep recycling scheme, and recycling points around the city. The YMCA charity shop at the Hove Recycling Centre is proof that one person's rubbish is another person's treasure."

Central Sussex YMCA shop at Hove Recycling Centre is a charity shop putting tonnes of rubbish to good use - and raising thousands of pounds for local people at the same time. They supply recycled goods to Sussex Central YMCA shop at Brighton & Hove City Council's recycling centre off Old Shoreham Road in Hove is a treasure trove of goods - including the kitchen sink! Items which might otherwise have ended up being discarded as rubbish are donated for sale at the shop and a paint recycling scheme is about to be launched there.

The role of the shop which is run by Sussex Central YMCA, in association with the city council, is being highlighted as part of national Recycle Week which runs from June 20 to 26.

It is one of a variety of ways across Brighton & Hove in which residents are being encouraged by the city council to reuse and recycle as much waste as possible - to help the environment and cut costs. These include doorstep recycling collections; recycling banks across the city collecting everything from glass and cans to bras and toys; recycling centres; sales of subsidised home compost kits; and providing details of local charities and community groups which can reuse furniture, timber, bric-a-brac, paper and other unwanted goods.

All kinds of items which might otherwise have ended up being discarded as rubbish are donated for sale at the shop. Furniture, clocks, clothes, bicycles, and electrical goods, and bric-a-brac make up the bulk of its stock but quirky and unusual items also come its way - recent donations, for example, have included a Sphinx garden ornament which was so heavy it need four people to move it and was soon snapped up by a new owner; large plants which have outgrown their home; a sledge; ironing boards, and sinks.

A paint recycling scheme is also about to be launched at the shop, under which people can donate leftover unwanted tins of paint, to be used by local charities, community groups and people on low income free of charge. www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/paintreuse

For the YMCA the store, and their other high street shops, are a vital source of income which raise essential funds for the charity's work with children, young people and families in Brighton & Hove.www.hoveymca.org.uk

Recycling Factfile

For full details about recycling in Brighton & Hove and the range of materials which can be recycled visit www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/recycling

Around 30,000 tonnes of waste are recycled in Brighton & Hove every year from doorstep collections, recycling points and recycling centres - the equivalent in weight of 2,100 double decker buses. (This is out of a total of around 108,000 tonnes of waste generated in the city each year.)

Brighton & Hove City Council's recycling centre are operated on behalf of the council by Veolia Environmental Services. They are located off Old Shoreham Road, Hove, BN3 7AE, between Aldrington Avenue and Leighton Road, and off Wilson Avenue, Brighton, BN2 5PA, about half way up Wilson Avenue, on the eastern side.

A huge range of materials can be recycled at these sites, from cans, aerosols, and cooking oil to metal, car batteries, computers, TVs, textiles and shoes

Turning food scraps into compost is another way of cutting waste and a new video on the council's website www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/composting gives tips on home composting. Subsidised compost kits are available from the council.

Recycle Week www.recyclenow.com

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