News in brief
Your waste and recycling collection is changing
In May, Woking Borough Council awarded Biffa Waste Services a new eight-year contract to bring about further improvements to the Borough's waste and recycling service and enable local people to recycle even more of their household rubbish.
The new contract incorporates many of the suggestions for improvement that were made by local people during a Boroughwide consultation last summer. Headline results from that exercise revealed that people were largely happy with the service but they felt that some changes could be made to help them recycle both kitchen and garden waste.
The key changes to the service that will take place over the next year include:
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introducing a weekly collection of food waste
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allowing users of sacks to recycle glass. Following a review of procedures, householders will receive a letter advising when they will be able to place glass in their blue sacks.
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Introducing a kerbside collection of household batteries to divert environment-damaging waste from landfill.
In addition, during the autumn, changes to the garden waste service will be introduced to offer all householders the chance to opt-in to a subscription-based service. Those who choose to use the service will be asked to pay an annual fee to receive a special wheeled bin for their garden waste which will be collected from the property boundary on a fortnightly basis.
Perhaps the most significant change - the weekly collection of all food waste - is likely to be introduced early in the New Year once the new fleet of vehicles has been delivered. These vehicles will provide up-to-date technology, performance and fuel efficiency.
The new waste and recycling service will be delivered at a substantially lower cost than the current service. Once all of the changes have been implemented, the Council is hopeful that the Borough will be well on the way to achieving a recycling rate of over 50%. Its ultimate goal is to reach 60% as quickly as possible.
Further information will be distributed to households during the summer in advance of the changes being introduced. Householders are asked to continue placing their waste and recycling out as usual until this time. Any enquiries should be directed to Woking Borough Council on 01483 755855 or visit www.woking.gov.uk
