Green revolution at Falinge

Residents of Falinge have started a green revolution, with weekly recycling figures on the estate rocketing from 86kg to 1,000kg a week in just three months.

The jump follows moves by the council to install 104 extra recycling bins across the estate between October and November last year.

Before the changes residents had just nine industrial-sized recycling bins serving all 400 people who live on the town centre estate, with no means of recycling paper and card.

So last October the council’s environmental management team installed 64 bins across 14 sites on the estate, before adding a further 40 bins across another ten sites in November.

Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) supported the scheme by sending their staff to a waste processing plant, so that they could find out about the recycling process and spread the message to residents.

And the moves have also enabled the introduction of a paper and card recycling service for the first time on the estate.

For every additional 1,000kg (one tonne) of waste that residents recycle, the council saves £186 in landfill taxes. If residents were to continue recycling at current rates, this would amount to almost £10,000 worth of savings over a year.