Merton Council is taking its recycling road show around the borough this festive season.
Visiting Wimbledon, Colliers Wood and Mitcham town centres, the council will be encouraging residents to think about how they can reduce the amount of rubbish they generate in the first place, as well as getting people to reduce their food waste and commit to recycling or even reusing items such as shopping bags.
The next two road shows are as follows:
8 December, Sainbury’s Savacentre, Colliers Wood, 11.00- 1400
9 December, Clock Tower, Mitcham Town Centre, 11.00- 14.00
Council officers will be there to advise people about recycling and give out information about the recycling services available in Merton. They will also be giving away reusable shopping bags to busy Christmas shoppers.
The road show bus will be decorated with homespun Christmas decorations crafted from waste materials such as old CDs and packaging. Children under five will be able to try their hand at fun, festive craft activities including making Christmas cards decorated with textiles. Residents will also be in with a chance to win an environmentally-friendly solar powered torch. All they have to do is make a pledge to ‘reduce, reuse or recycle’.
The council is on target to recycle 33% of the rubbish collected from households across the borough by the end of March 2010 – roughly 2,073 tonnes per month.
Merton Council cabinet member for environment and leisure services, Councillor David Simpson said: “Going out on the road like this is a great way to engage directly with residents and encourage everyone to become recycling champions. We are always working to offer our residents best value for money. If we reduce our waste, reuse things where possible and buy things in recyclable packaging, we prevent tonnes of rubbish going to landfill and therefore save money on landfill taxes. This means that we can invest more funds on providing a first class recycling service for residents. The kitchen waste pilot which we extended to 10,000 households earlier this year continues to be a success and is helping to boost our recycling rate. We’re hoping to roll it out across the borough during 2010.”
More information on recycling: http://www.merton.gov.uk/recyclingwastemanagement
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