Have your say on waste reduction plans

1.41.08pm BST (GMT +0100) Fri 4th May 2007

There is still time to comment on a wide-ranging Council action plan aimed at cutting the borough's waste mountain. Residents have until May 21 to have their say. [ http://tinyurl.com/2bgbqq ]

Each year the borough's residents throw away enough waste to cover Twickenham Rugby Stadium with a pile of rubbish 50m deep. Promoting the reduce and reuse message, the new plan details support and advice available to households to stop them creating so much waste. It covers topics including reusable nappies, waste-aware shopping and reusing unwanted items instead of binning and sending to landfill. The plan is designed to complement future improvements in the recycling service, which will give the borough one of the most comprehensive, source-separated, doorstep collection services in the country. A public consultation on the Waste Prevention Action Plan 2007/08 runs until Monday, 21 May and the Council's EcoAction team is appealing for feedback.

Cllr Martin Elengorn, Cabinet Member for Environment, said:

"Sending waste to landfill contributes to global warming and with increasing financial penalties is an increasing burden on the  Council taxpayer. While recycling is on the increase it's critical we also all take steps to reduce the amount of waste we generate in the first place. Everyone can contribute with small changes in everyday habits. The borough has the highest home composting rate in London and recently held our second Give and Take Day, which proved to be very popular, but more can be done. This action planbuilds on the areas in which we are strong and introduces a range of new waste reduction initiatives."