West Dorset Council soon to become recycling champions.

Councillors have approved plans to join a Dorset-wide waste and recycling service. The new service could save the district council £304,977 a year and increase the recycling rate from 35 per cent to 65 per cent.

Robert Gould, Leader of West Dorset District Council, said: "I am glad we have taken a significant step towards introducing a Dorset-wide waste and recycling service which will save money and help people recycle more rubbish."

The new service will be run by the Dorset Waste Partnership, which West Dorset District Council has signed up to join in April 2013. The Dorset-wide waste and recycling service will provide residents with a weekly food waste collection, a fortnightly recycling collection of glass, card, paper, plastics, batteries, tins and cans; and a fortnightly collection of left over non-recyclable waste to go to landfill. Residents will also be offered a fortnightly charged garden waste collection service.

Residents will also be given wheelie bins, which reduce mess and problems caused by seagulls and other animals. They are easier and safer to push and pull around than black rubbish sacks.

Residents will be given a seven-litre food waste kitchen caddy, a lockable food waste container which can  be kept outside (collected weekly), a 140-litre wheeled bin for non-recyclable landfill rubbish (collected fortnightly), a 240-litre wheeled bin for recycling (collected fortnightly) and a 55-litre recycling box for glass (collected fortnightly).

More details can be found at www.dorsetforyou.com/dorsetwasteservice

Photo by The-Lane-Team