Council offices finally get round to recycling

A pilot scheme is to be rolled out from January in key civic premises including Ardeevin, The Braid, Seven Towers Leisure Centre, the Showgrounds, Ecos and People’s Park.

Recyclable materials including cans, plastics, paper, card and glass will be collected from those facilities over a six month period and the tonnage recorded in a bid to assess the success of the pilot.

Bringing details to Thursday’s Regulatory and Operational Services Committee meeting of Council, councillors heard the scheme would help the local authority meet recycling targets and divert waste from landfill.

It would also identify Council buildings as examples of best practice, help increase borough recycling rates and improve awareness of the need to recycle for both council staff and users of the various key buildings.

The committee was also told that while costs were associated with the recycling infrastructure for the scheme, ie. recycling bins, this was seen as an investment towards increasing recycling rates and awareness raising.

Welcoming the initiative, Cllr Beth Clyde said: “Council wasn’t practising what it was preaching for a while.”

Also welcoming the development, Alderman Maurice Mills added: “We must start within our own house.”