Councillor’s recycling put to the test

Councillor Jacqui Beswick, was tested to identify which household waste items were recyclable and belonged in either a green (blue lid), blue or brown bin

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A Rochdale Borough Council councillor has had to prove her recycling credentials by rising to the ‘Right stuff. Right bin’ challenge.

Councillor Jacqui Beswick, cabinet member for regulation and place was rigorously tested to identify which household waste items were recyclable and belonged in either a green (blue lid), blue or brown bin. She said: “As a resident of this borough I take my recycling responsibilities very seriously realising that my efforts can save vital public money and the planet from long-term damage.

“I have to practice what I preach. But I was still nervous taking up this challenge.

“Putting the right items in the right bin is crucial to prevent waste contamination. Our refuse teams cannot collect bins that contain the wrong items and therefore are contaminated. But if people learn how to get it right first time then it would be better for everyone. That’s the premise of our new educational campaign.”

The challenge comes as the council, together with waste partners Recycle for Greater Manchester, launches a new education campaign to get local residents to recycle more of their waste to save public money being thrown, quite literally in the bin.

Improved recycling rates could save a colossal £25m a year across Greater Manchester, money that could be better spent on schools, libraries, other public services and community projects.

The new campaign called ‘Right stuff. Right bin’ is being piloted in Rochdale making it the first place in Greater Manchester to trial this innovative approach. It has been designed to help educate residents in what things go in the right bin.

Rochdale Borough Council’s recycling crews will be leaving green thank you tags on bins where households are recycling the right items in the right bins.

However, households that get it wrong will receive red apology tags left on uncollected recycling bins. The red tag reminds residents of the right items that can go in the bin. Residents are asked to remove the wrong items and try and make sure only the right stuff goes in the right bin for the next collection day.

The tags are being trialled on one round in Rochdale– round 15 - which covers most of Newbold, and St Ann’s estate; and properties along Kingsway and parts of Wardleworth – 1600 households in total. Tags will be left by crews on three consecutive collection days; 20th September, 4th October, 18th October. Letters are being issued to residents who are in the pilot catchment area informing them of the campaign. Translated materials are also available in recognition of a high proportion of Urdu speaking residents in the catchment area. People are also being invited to a special roadshow held at Morrisons Kingsway on Friday 13th September hosted in partnership with Key103.

Martin Taylor, environmental service manager at Rochdale Borough Council, added: “We would like to see as many affected residents at our roadshow to answer their questions and discuss their concerns. We’ve uploaded information about the campaign onto our website to provide further assistance.

“We hope that people will embrace the campaign, and with our little helpful reminders about what items are right for each recycling bin and by praising individual’s good work, we have high hopes to improve recycling rates and reduce contamination rates.”

Crews will monitor recycling tonnage rates and green tag numbers to assess whether the campaign has had any impact. If successful, the campaign could be rolled out across the borough and even Greater Manchester.

More information about the campaign can be found on www.rochdale.gov.uk/bins as well as frequently asked questions that affected residents might find particularly helpful.