Plans to boost recycling rates

The measures are being looked at by borough council officers to push recycling rates up from 17 per cent towards the Government target of 30 per cent for 2007-08.

In a report presented to the council's environment overview committee last Thursday, officers estimate that just providing the rural areas with green bins may already have increased recycling by four per cent.

Emma Broom, the council's head of street care, told the committee: "The green bins in the rural areas have had a staggering impact.

"It is early days but we are collecting some very significant tonnages."

Plans to increase recycling further include an education programme, with a campaign starting in December that will focus on the Popley, Oakridge, Buckskin and South Ham areas of Basingstoke, where recycling performance is particularly low.

The drive will start with a series of roadshows and be followed from March with an initiative where a specialist crew of binmen will be knocking on residents' doors to educate them about recycling as they collect the rubbish.

Officers are also looking into providing households with compost bins and home wormeries to cut down on kitchen and garden waste going into black bins.

However, officials are not recommending introducing more bottle banks instead of kerbside glass collection, as they say it will be very expensive to run and only increase recycling by a small amount.

Miss Broom said many borough residents already take glass to bottle banks, often taking them to banks at the supermarket when they go shopping.

But some councillors argued that their wards might benefit from kerbside glass collection, and are keen for it to still be considered.

Councillor Robert Donnell, who represents Winklebury, said: "Some people travel to supermarkets by public transport so they cannot take glass. For them, kerbside glass collection would be very welcome."

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