Borough-wide Recycling Gather steam - Help Royal Greenwich to recycle more

by Our Staff Writer | Greenwich

Cllr. Jackie Smith:

Cabinet Member for

Community Safety

and Environment

The Royal Borough of Greenwich has out-performed the London average for recycling rates in the last two years, as well as achieving the third lowest percentage of landfill in the capital - just outside the top 20 councils in the country. But the message is clear – by working together, the borough can do even better.

To mark National Recycling Week 2015 (22- 28 June) the council’s recycling teams took their message out at Roadshows at local supermarkets, public buildings and major events, emphasising the importance of recycling and how its residents can help increase the amount of waste which is turned back into reusable materials.

Part of the message included promoting the full range of items that can be recycled in the royal borough. The council’s weekly dedicated household recycling service collects everything from coloured glass, tin foil, empty aerosol tins, junk mail, books, ready meals packaging and plastic bottles.

The waste for recycling is taken to the royal borough’s Mixed Recycling Facility (MRF) where it goes through a series of sophisticated machines which separate the waste into specific types of materials to be recycled. The MRF is based at the same site as the royal borough’s Reuse and Recycle Centre in Thamesmead on Nathan Way, SE28 0AF.

The Centre is open seven days a week and accepts a larger range of items, including many (such as furniture and white goods) which cannot be collected in the weekly doorstep service. 

Batteries and electrical waste should also be safely disposed of using the dedicated bins at recycling banks (also known as bring sites).

Small electrical items can also be disposed of using the council’s free kerbside collection service.

There is also a new collection centre due to be opened next week in the Orangery Lane car park in Eltham increasing the recycling options for local people. The royal borough has achieved consistently good rates of recycling in recent years, yet overall the capital is seeing a decline in recycling. The council is committed to improving its rates wherever possible and as always, residents are urged to think of the local environment and keep working hard to recycle their household waste at every opportunity.

Councillor Jackie Smith, the Royal Borough’s Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Environment said: “We are committed to continually increasing what items can be recycled and also making our waste and recycling services simple and convenient for local people."

“Most people now recognise how important it is that we do what we can to safeguard the environment. Therefore, by taking those simple routine steps to educate ourselves and our families about what we can recycle, we all help protect the environment by sending less recyclable waste to landfill or incineration.”

For full details of what can be recycled from home, or taken to the Reuse and Recycle Centre visit: www.royalgreenwich.gov.uk/recyling.