Compulsory Recycling starting soon

Following a very successful pilot last year, Compulsory Recycling is being introduced across Waltham Forest from 10 September 2007. All residents in the Get Sorted! Black Box scheme are being asked to recycle their paper, cardboard, glass bottles and jars, and food and drink cans.

With rubbish causing an increasing burden on the environment across the UK, the government has set ambitious targets for how much local councils have to recycle. Currently 29% of waste is recycled in Waltham Forest - we have to increase this to 33% by March 2008 and 50% by 2012. If we don’t meet these targets, the Council will receive heavy fines that will impact on council tax bills.

We will be working hard with residents to make sure they understand the compulsory recycling scheme. From mid-August a communications campaign featuring local recyclers will help residents to understand what and how they need to recycle. Look out for posters at locations around the borough and information packs which will be delivered to homes involved.

Councillor Bob Belam, Cabinet Member for Environment, said: “We’ve proved that Compulsory Recycling can significantly increase recycling rates and we’re confident that this initiative will ensure we meet the government’s targets. To guarantee its success we all need to spread the word to make residents aware of the role they have to play in making Waltham Forest a greener, cleaner place to live.”

If residents persistently do not recycle, they could be fined up to £1,000. This will only be used as a last resort in cases where people have continuously failed to recycle.

If you are meeting with a group of residents and would like to take some leaflets about the new Compulsory Recycling scheme, or know of a location we can put up additional posters to inform residents, please contact Madeleine Thorpe on extension 4856 or by email.

The compulsory recycling scheme will not initially apply to high-rise blocks of flats with shared refuse facilities, although the Council is considering possibilities to include these properties. The Council’s Green Waste collection service for kitchen and garden waste will be extended across the borough from September, with all residents to be included by February 2008. Residents will be informed as the scheme is expanded into their area.

For more information about recycling in Waltham Forest, visit www.walthamforest.gov.uk/recycling

Green Fair

The rain held off long enough for residents to learn about green issues and practical ways of tackling climate change at the Council's Green Fair on Sunday.
Hundreds of people flocked to the event in Aveling Park, Walthamstow, to find out more about reducing their Carbon Footprint. They also learned about topics such as recycling, composting, waste reduction, insulating, transport, street cleaning, pollution, open spaces and animal welfare in the many Council marquees.
The Council's environment team was also on hand to hear residents' views on the environment and what they thought could be done to help the environment and give out information and advice about the services provided by the Council.
Councillor Bob Belam, Cabinet member for the Environment said: “The fair was a wonderful day which enabled the whole family to pick up a few helpful ideas on how to protect the environment.
"Stopping climate change is not about making drastic changes, it is about everybody making small but valuable alterations to the way they do things - recycling more, using energy efficient light bulbs and making sure you turn electrical appliances off when your have finished using them.
"These things don't have a major impact on your quality of life, but if everyone did them they would help enormously in tackling climate change."
People took the green theme to heart, even when making their way to Aveling Park. A survey of visitors to the event showed most used green modes of transport to get there with 57 percent walking, 21 per cent driving, 10 per cent cycling and 11 per cent getting the bus.
Around 200 people registered for the Children's Traffic Club to receive regular road safety advice from Transport for London and 450 bags to dispose of cigarette butts were given out along with 100 dog mess cleaning kits. A further 30 smokers asked to be referred to stop smoking service.
More than 140 people applied to take part in the recycling station pilot which aims to make recycling tidier and more convenient.
As well as the practical side of the day there were Children’s activities including shows, a climbing wall, a treasure hunt, attended by more than 50 children and a bike ride.
To find out more about protecting the environment and what Waltham Forest Council is doing to tackle climate change visit http://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/index/environment/climate-change.htm

TOP TEN TIPS

'Let councils decide on tax and transport'

Ahead of the expected publication of the Sub National Review by the Treasury, the Local Government Association is calling for powers to be devolved to councils, or groups of councils, over taxation, transport, infrastructure, planning, economic development and skills in order to boost economic growth.The Local Government Association, a cross party organisation which represents councils in England, is calling for:Devolution of powers and funding for partnerships to provide local solutions to the transport, housing and planning, welfare and skills and economic development needs of their areas Devolution of new powers and funding to councils to recognise their key role in providing the conditions for local economic prosperity and growthDecisions to be made by councils working together with partners at the level of a town or city or county but not a centrally imposed modelRegional bodies such as Regional Development Agencies and Regional Planning Bodies to be genuinely strategic and for regional economic, planning and housing strategies to be mergedChairman of the Local Government Association, Sir Simon Milton, said:'The sub national review represents a real opportunity for Ministers to hand down powers from Whitehall back to locally accountable people to make the right decisions, in the right time and in the right place.'Central government keeps town and cities as clients. It is time to set them free. Decisions on transport, planning, regeneration and employment must be devolved to the level where people actually live their lives, raise their families and earn their living.'Despite the UK experiencing an unprecedented period of growth and stability, British productivity is below the average of G7 countries, lagging behind the US, France and Germany. English cities, with the exception of London, are not even represented in Europe's wealthiest thirty urban centres. If England's cities are to close the gap with other countries, let alone with London, their productivity and competitiveness need to stride forwards.'With greater devolution on taxation and clear powers over transport, infrastructure, planning, economic development and skills, overseas cities have managed to develop local economies that benefits not just the city, but pulls up the whole region. Whitehall should learn from their experience and give similar powers to English areas.'Politicians of all parties recognise that what distinguishes England's local economies from successful places elsewhere is our uniquely centralised system of decision-making and funding. What is needed is a clear devolution of power to make local decisions and put in place local solutions, and to invest in transformation for growth.'England's cities and shires are ambitious to take real local ownership of their economic destiny. Each place, city, county, town is different. All have their own unique challenges. 'In the light of the evidence, economic devolution now seems to both necessary and unavoidable. The government has created for itself an unmissable opportunity to bring about this decade's decisive economic transformation.'

'Pay as you throw' scheme will not work

Charging people for the amount of waste they produce and penalising those who don't do it properly are poorly thought out ideas that are doomed to failure, according to the Communities and Local Government select committee.In its report on refuse collection, the committee said the proposals were "too timid, too complicated and unlikely to work". And it concluded that planned financial incentive schemes would be seen as an extra charge for a service most householders believe they pay for already through their council tax. Rewards as small as £20 or £30 a year for sorting waste into as many as five different bins, bags or boxes will not outweigh the negative psychological impact of making offending households pay more. Indeed, the schemes could lead to public protest, as well as more fly-tipping and non-payment.The committee also said that alternate weekly collections may not be suitable for all councils, especially highly populated urban centres with crowded streets and limited storage space for bins. And the committee claimed that although recycling has increased in areas where there were alternate collections, there is no proven link between those increases and the new system.Backing up views expressed in Public Servant Daily blogs, the committee felt there was enough public concern, along with a wealth of anecdotal evidence about population explosions in flies, maggots, rats and the like, that there should be more research into the health implications of AWC. One suggestion is for local authorities to have separate food waste collection at least once a week. [Read the blog: Maggots make my life a misery.]Committee chair Dr Phyllis Starkey said: “Our clear conclusion is that no single collection system could suit every authority across the range of all local circumstances. We would like the government come up with a core definition of what householders should expect from their refuse collection. This should include no complicated rules, rubbish collected when the council says it will be and schemes to suit every household from the largest rural home to the most crowded urban area. What we do not want is, as Ben Bradshaw, then the minister for waste, put it, local authorities 'blundering' into AWC before proper consideration and consultation has taken place as to whether this is the best system for that area.”The Department for the Environment said it was "disappointed that on financial incentives, the committee has not recognised the need to try out new and innovative ways of encouraging sustainable waste behaviour".Paul Bettison, chairman of the Local Government Association's environment board, said: "The LGA would like to see more focus on the 90 per cent plus of waste which is not municipal. We also call on government, producers and retailers to work together and reduce the amount of food waste being thrown away. Separate and weekly food waste collection is desirable in principle but there are serious issues of cost and practicality."

FREE COLLECTIONS

The Council will provide three free special collections per year to each domestic household. The year runs from 1st April to 31st March. Further collections can be provided at a cost starting at £23.50 (£20.00 plus VAT). All collections carried out within ten working days.
Examples of what can be collected on a special collection:
o up to 10 light sacks of household or
o garden waste or
o a 3-piece suite or
o a dining room suite (table and 4 chairs) or
o 1 double, or 2 single wardrobes or
o a bed and mattress
o one item of white goods (fridge/cooker/ washing machine/dishwasher/spin dryer/freezer etc or similar appliance)
This service is available for most types of household items but does not include fixtures and fittings, carpets, construction waste (bricks, rubble, concrete,patio slabs etc) or garden fixtures (sheds, garages, fencing etc)
To request a Special Collection
Contact Waltham Forest Direct 020 8496 3000

GREEN FAIR

Waltham Forest Council holds this annual Green Fair event, every year and it is a highly successful and enjoyable occasion. Many green groups, environmental schemes, animal interests, organic produces, community groups and activists are represented at this event.
The Green Fair aims to improve people’s awareness of green issues and help people to make the small changes to their lives, which can help to make a dramatic effect on the environment.
Event Details
This year it will be held at Lloyd/Aveling Park on Sunday 22 July, from 12 noon to 6pm.
The Council’s Environment portfolio holder Councillor Bob Belam said:
“Do you know; if everyone installed just one energy saving light bulb the CO2 emissions saved would fill 2 million double-decker buses and if each house installed three energy saving bulbs, it would save enough energy to run the country's streetlights for a year! As well as the helping the environment, installing a low energy bulb will save about £9 per year on your electricity bill, so if you replace every light in the house; how much will you save?”
As well as showing people how easy it is to help the environment, the Fair will bring green traders and the public together enabling local people to buy energy saving devices, which will end up saving both money and CO2 emissions.