Green Waste Scheme Expanded Again

2.59.29pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 17th Oct 2006

The Vale's Executive has approved a proposal to expand the green waste scheme once again to cope with the massive demand for the recycling service.

The scheme is currently operating near to its full planned capacity of 8000 bins and this limit is expected to be reached by mid-October. The Executive has therefore approved expansion of the scheme to bring an extra 4000 homes into the scheme.

For an annual fee of just £29, residents can receive a brown wheelie bin into which they can place all their green waste for composting, significantly increasing the amount of waste which is recycled in the Vale.

The Council will now ask its operator, Cleanaway to arrange to 'borrow' a vehicle from West Oxfordshire District Council to help with the extra collections as the West Oxfordshire vehicle is not currently working to its full capacity. This arrangement will reduce the cost of collection this financial year by several thousand pounds.

Councillor Tony de Vere said: "The green waste scheme has been a runaway success and we are delighted to be able to expand it further. That is good for the environment and it is good for residents, as it means that we can keep costs down as far as possible. The Vale has been a leader for years on recycling and I'm proud that we are continuing with this significant work, which is in everyone's interest."