Queens Court residents win cash in new flat recycling scheme

6.41.04pm BST (GMT +0100) Fri 22nd Jun 2007

The excellent recycling efforts of residents at Queens Court in Richmond have earned them a cash reward from Richmond Council in a new incentive scheme encouraging recycling in flats.

Over 75 per cent of flats in the borough now have recycling facilities and every month the residents of the block that recycles the most, and uses the correct bins, will win £100. To ensure the competition is fair, the weight of recycling collected will be divided by the number of flats on the site. Residents can choose to receive vouchers or cash and decide themselves where the money is spent. Tony O'Neil, the estate manager at Queens Court, said:

"It was a complete surprise to hear that we had won. The residents and I are delighted. We have decided to spend the £100 on improving recycling facilities and putting a screen around the bins to help keep them clean and tidy. Most of the residents recycle and it's so easy to put all the different materials in the communal bins we have here."

Cllr Martin Elengorn, Cabinet Member for Environment on Richmond Council, said:??"We recognise that in the past recycling has posed a challenge for people living in flats and the Council has worked extremely hard to increase facilities for blocks in the borough. Most now have communal bins on site allowing residents to take out the materials as often as they like. It's vital we encourage all our residents to recycle for both environmental and financial reasons. Sending waste to landfill contributes towards global warming and, due to the high costs involved, also hits council taxpayers in the pocket. Congratulations to the residents at Queens Court and I hope their success is a spur to others."