New bins service has boosted recycling says Daventry District Council

A total of 1,023 tonnes of food waste was collected for recycling between the launch of the 123+ service in June and the end of October – a 63 per cent increase on the same period last year, the district council has revealed.

At the same time, people also recycled 3,169 tonnes of cans, glass, paper and other dry recyclables in their new blue-lidded bins, which is 14 per cent more than the same period last year.

There has also been a 27 per cent reduction in the amount of rubbish being put in the black bins – from 7,130 tonnes down to 5,150 tonnes.

Daventry District Council’s environment portfolio holder, Councillor Jo Gilford, said: "These are extremely pleasing results and I would like to thank all of our residents for adapting to these changes so quickly and supporting us in our efforts to increase our district’s recycling performance.

"The new service is proving more convenient for residents and more beneficial for the environment.

"The increased uptake of our weekly food recycling service stands out in particular, and hopefully it goes to show how making individual adjustments to our recycling habits can add up and make a huge difference.

"Introducing this new collection service was an enormous undertaking and we have worked hard in order to make the transition as smooth as possible.

"We are already seeing huge benefits from our joint venture, which is very encouraging."

The 123+ waste and recycling collections were introduced on June 4 and are run by Daventry Norse – a joint venture between Daventry District Council and Norse Commercial Services.

Under the service, residents receive a weekly food waste collection, a fortnightly mixed recycling collection in a blue-lidded wheelie bin, and a general waste black bin collection every three weeks.

There is also an optional fortnightly garden waste service, which more than 20,000 homes - or around 56 per cent of the district - have signed up to receive so far.