South Cambridgeshire to scrap paper caddies

From 11 December 2017, the council advises residents to place used paper into their blue wheelie bins for recycling. The date was announced at a full meeting of South Cambridgeshire district council yesterday (28 September), after the council cabinet approved the plan earlier this month.

According to the council, the withdrawal of caddies means fewer waste collection vehicles will in future be needed, helping save around £670,000 during the next seven years, compared to the existing system.

Commingled

The authority said that the new service will use trucks to collect dry recycling commingled, which do not have split bodies, and can therefore carry more materials. This means collection rounds will be completed without the need for vehicles to return to depots and be emptied as often.

Trucks will cover around 26,000 fewer miles per year on South Cambridgeshire’s roads than the current arrangement, the council said. Because of this, the change will also lead to “lower fuel costs and reduced CO2 emissions.”

The local authority suggests current recycling rates, that see more than half of South Cambridgeshire’s waste recycled, will be at least maintained, if not marginally improved, from 11 December onwards.

Paper

Cllr Mark Howell, South Cambridgeshire district council’s cabinet member for environmental services, said: “We wanted to give residents as much notice as possible about this upcoming change, and we will continue to keep them informed as we approach 11 December.

“Even though we are making this change, remember paper is still recycled when placed in the blue bin, as it gets sorted from other materials at our plant near Waterbeach.”

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Mark Howell
South Cambridgeshire council

“Even though we are making this change, remember paper is still recycled when placed in the blue bin, as it gets sorted from other materials at our plant near Waterbeach.

“It then gets sold onto paper mills and made into new paper products, so residents can rest assured they are still helping the environment.”

After 11 December, residents can keep their caddies and use them however they wish. Alternatively, they can be taken to a household waste recycling centre for recycling.

South Cambridgeshire district council is part of a shared waste service which operates in conjunction with Cambridge city council. (see letsrecycle.com story)

The materials collected from the blue bin are taken to Amey’s materials recycling facility in Waterbeach, near Cambridge.