Merton rolls out on-the-go recycling bins

It is also introducing recycling bins for the same materials at five parks across the borough, with a further location, Cannizaro Park, to be included once building works at the site are completed.

Collections from the new bins, which will be made three times a week – on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays – are set to begin on Saturday (September 19).

The roll-out represents a significant increase in the council's efforts to offer on-the-go recycling, with receptacles currently only in place for paper recycling outside Wimbledon station and Colliers Wood and Wimbledon Park underground stations.

Earlier this year, the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson was urged by the London Assembly to introduce more on-the-go recycling points across the capital to help improve its relatively low recycling rates (see letsrecycle.com story).

Commenting on the introduction of the on-the-go receptacles, the council's cabinet member for environment and leisure services, councillor David Simpson, said: “People are very good at recycling when they are in their own homes but in the past it has been more difficult for them to recycle plastic bottles or empty cans while they are out and about in the borough.

“We want to make recycling easier for people and turn it into part of everyday life. I hope that having lots of recycling bins near local stations and in our parks will encourage people to recycle their rubbish wherever they are,” he added.

Food waste

This week (September 14) has also seen the widening of Merton's weekly kerbside food waste collection to cover a further 8,000 properties in addition to the 2,000 households who have received the service in the Ravensbury area of the borough since June 2007 (see letsrecycle.com story).

The council aimed to deliver food waste caddies, a lockable food waste bin to be placed outside for collection, compostable liners and an instructional leaflet to all households covered by the extension by September 11.

It said that it hopes the service will allow it to “significantly increase” its recycling rate, which it claims had already increased from 30% in 2008/09 to 32% this year.

The last official figures for Merton show that it achieved a 27.08% municipal recycling and composting rate in 2007/08.