Lewes District's recycling hailed as '˜an unprecedented success'

The council introduced the new scheme 12 months ago with the roll-out of 40,000 new wheelie bins to homes in the district.

The wheelie bins with the distinctive blue lid replaced the assortment of old boxes and bags that residents previously had to use for their recycling.

The provisional collection statistics for October 2018 show over 1m Kgs (1,011,026) of waste was recycled, which is 39.7 per cent of the total waste collected.

Cllr Andy Smith said: “This unprecedented success is all about our work with the public, listening to them and designing a new service to suit their busy lives.

“People said they wanted a simpler way of recycling, we gave them that and this is the result, record quantities of waste are being recycled, something everyone in Lewes District can be proud of.”

In addition to the investment in new wheelie bins, the council also introduced a new waste collection fleet to replace the old electric vehicles that used to trundle around the district.

Cllr Smith added: “When you consider where the council was a few years ago, with dwindling levels of recycling and waste collection infrastructure that simply wasn’t fit for purpose, it is quite remarkable that we have come so far in such a short space of time.

“Prior to our introduction of the new systems for collecting refuse, the recycling rates were poor and the associated infrastructure wasn’t fit for purpose.

“Despite the significant financial challenges local government faces we made the much needed investment that reflected a key priority for local people and our excellent staff implemented the new systems superbly.”

The latest recycling developments being driven by the council include ‘Recycling on the Go’, with new bins installed in public areas across the district.

And with Christmas not far away, the council has launched a ‘Bags of Goodness’ scheme where households can receive free food waste recycling liners.

Lewes District Council is the only authority in Sussex that offers a food waste service, with everything collected turned into soil conditioner, which is used by local farmers and gardeners, and crucially it means less rubbish being incinerated.

To sign up for food waste collections and to find out how to get your free roll of caddy liners, visit leweseastbourne.gov.uk/ food recycling