Teignbridge launches recycling rewards
Community organisations and residents who pledge to recycle and reduce food waste are in with a chance of winning prizes in a new initiative launched by Teignbridge District Council.
Teignbridge, which is rolling out its new waste and recycling service, has unveiled a Recycling Together Rewards scheme aimed at rewarding those who support recycling with cash prizes and drive up recycling rates even higher.
The scheme is supported by £40,000 from the Department for Communities and Local Government and is part of Teignbridge’s new bin and recycling collection service which will help make it easier for people to recycle more.
Community organisations including composting and recycling groups, schools, sports clubs, voluntary groups and not-for-profit organisations can sign up online. They’ll get a marketing toolkit which will enable them to encourage their members, friends and family to get involved. Participants put reward stickers on their black bins to show they are part of the scheme. The challenge is to keep the bin free of any food waste or recyclables.
People are encouraged to either compost food waste at home - an inexpensive, natural process that transforms kitchen waste into a valuable and nutrient rich food for gardens or allotments - or place anything that cannot be reused including meat, bones and dairy into new food caddies which are emptied weekly. That way much less will go for disposal.
Each month two top prizes of £100 and eight runner-up prizes of £25 are up for grabs to the households that are taking part, with their nominated community group getting the cash equivalent.
People can sign up online by visiting www.teignbridge.gov.uk/recyclingrewards
Cllr Kevin Lake, Teignbridge District Council’s Executive spokesman for Environment Services, said: “Recycling Together Rewards is a chance for us to try something new in Teignbridge, with real benefits for the local organisations involved. The scheme is open to community groups, schools, charities and not-for-profit organisations and their supporters so we’d really encourage them to get involved.
“Sending food waste for disposal is expensive. Instead we will be sending food waste to an anaerobic digester where it will be converted into electricity, saving both natural resources and money.
“We’d love to see more community organisations and residents sign up and do their bit. You’ve got to be in it to win it! Our residents are really good at recycling and composting and this is a great way to reward them and our community organisations as we start to roll out the new waste and recycling collections.”
Teignbridge’s new waste and recycling scheme is being rolled out across the district in three phases. Phase 1 started at the beginning of September. Phase 2 starts in October and Phase 3 starts in November.
This gives people weekly food waste collections, weekly recycling collections including more mixed plastic packaging and cardboard and optional garden waste collections.
Leaflets and new bins have been delivered to homes ahead of the phased roll-out along with new recycling guides and calendars. This gives people information about when their new recycling service starts and how they can subscribe to a new optional garden waste collection service.
Two to four weeks before the changes happen, each home will get:
• A new food waste container
• A new reusable sack for recycling paper
• A new recycling guide and collection calendar
• A new set of recycling box stickers
Collection days will not change and the black bins - for things that can’t be recycled, reused or composted - will remain collected fortnightly.
Residents do not need to do anything until they receive these things and should still put out their bins as usual.
