Savings of more than £5 million, an 80 per cent reduction in the amount of waste going to landfill and wider environmental benefits are the headlines in a report to Durham County Council’s Cabinet next week.
The details are outlined in an update to members reporting on the results one year on from the introduction of new waste management arrangements for the county. The paper makes it clear there is a great deal more work to be done but lays out the council’s success in adopting a ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ approach to dealing with the county’s rubbish. It also reflects the opportunities to use waste as an energy source above burying it in the ground.
Members will hear how (1) The introduction of alternate weekly collections; (2) A review of the Household Waste Recycling Centres; (3) New waste transport and disposal contracts and (4) Reducing contamination of recycling via the ‘bin it right’ campaign, have delivered significant savings and environmental improvements.
Cllr Brian Stephens, Cabinet member for neighbourhoods and local partnerships, said: “By reducing our costs and cutting the amount of waste going to landfill we have made savings of £5m.
We can also see that residents are supporting the shift from burying waste to recycling and reusing materials both via the kerbside collections we offer and through our recycling centres. There is always more work to do in this area but this is an excellent first year.”
Members will be asked to note the savings and the approach when they meet at County Hall on October 15th.