Recycling makes £50k for council

5:00pm Thursday 27th September 2012 in News

ECO-FRIENDLY residents helped Castle Point Council make nearly £50,000 last year with their recycling efforts.

Keen residents managed to recycle 49 per cent of the borough’s household waste last year, up from 39.4 per cent in 2010.

The food waste recycling scheme was launched last July and the first 12-month figures show 8,162 tonnes of green and food waste was saved from the rubbish tip.

The council was then able to cash in on the public’s efforts by selling the recyclable goods onto companies for a profit of £48,069. The companies then use the materials to make new things.

The money raised was part of the council underspending its budget by £1.5million in 2011/2012.

County councillor responsible for waste, Ray Howard , said: “This is fantastic news. The community of Castle Point is so environmentally friendly we are increasing the amount we are recycling all the time. To go out and see all the pink sacks on collection day is marvellous.

“Not only are we helping the environment and saving money by not going to landfill, we are also making money for this borough by selling it on, so it’s good news all round.

“I would like to pay tribute to the public for making our recycling projects so successful. They make me proud to be the cabinet member for this portfolio.”

Despite the budget savings, Jeffrey Stanley, deputy leader of the council, said the majority of the money would not go unspent for long as the council was ploughing money into the revamp of Waterside Farm Leisure Centre, in Somnes Avenue, Canvey .

Mr Stanley, who is also councillor responsible for corporate policy, resources and performance, said: “For a long time the council has been spending less than it budgets for, and the reason for this is largely because we are very careful with what we spend and get good value for money.

“While it may look like big figures we have under spent, you must consider that around £41million comes in and goes out of the council accounts in the course of a year, so when you compare it to that, the amount is quite small.

“Reserves are useful to have because they enable us to undertake bigger capital projects, like the renovation of Waterside Farm, which the whole of the borough will benefit from.”

The council made an extra £37,000 this year from more people using the borough’s car parks, £48,069 from re-selling the borough’s recyclable rubbish and £20,538 savings on its IT contracts.

Comments (6)

5:14pm Thu 27 Sep 12

Audioman says...

A very small increase in the council tax next year then thats good news !!.I don't think !!!
A very small increase in the council tax next year then thats good news !!.I don't think !!! Audioman

5:27pm Thu 27 Sep 12

streetboy75 says...

but we still have to pay for the food waste bags and the green garden bags, total joke, other councils have a bin you can just put it all in one and not have to waste more money of these bags, most people in our road no longer do the food waste we just chuck it all in black bags, or on carrier bags and then put it in the public bins, LOL! why should we save the council money doing all this but we still have to pay for the bags and we see no droop in council tax, total crap
but we still have to pay for the food waste bags and the green garden bags, total joke, other councils have a bin you can just put it all in one and not have to waste more money of these bags, most people in our road no longer do the food waste we just chuck it all in black bags, or on carrier bags and then put it in the public bins, LOL! why should we save the council money doing all this but we still have to pay for the bags and we see no droop in council tax, total crap streetboy75

6:54pm Thu 27 Sep 12

AnotherSister says...

streetboy75 wrote:
but we still have to pay for the food waste bags and the green garden bags, total joke, other councils have a bin you can just put it all in one and not have to waste more money of these bags, most people in our road no longer do the food waste we just chuck it all in black bags, or on carrier bags and then put it in the public bins, LOL! why should we save the council money doing all this but we still have to pay for the bags and we see no droop in council tax, total crap
That ticks me off as well. Also, they are now sending two vehicles out to make two collections, whereas it all used to be done through one collection. How environmentally friendly is that?

If you buy the big green refuse bags for garden waste, as the Council never give you anywhere near enough, not all brands of them are accepted as recyclable by the Council.

I'd also like to see a collection, say once a month, for broken down electrical items, as they are very hard to dispose of if you don't have your own transport.
[quote][p][bold]streetboy75[/bold] wrote: but we still have to pay for the food waste bags and the green garden bags, total joke, other councils have a bin you can just put it all in one and not have to waste more money of these bags, most people in our road no longer do the food waste we just chuck it all in black bags, or on carrier bags and then put it in the public bins, LOL! why should we save the council money doing all this but we still have to pay for the bags and we see no droop in council tax, total crap[/p][/quote]That ticks me off as well. Also, they are now sending two vehicles out to make two collections, whereas it all used to be done through one collection. How environmentally friendly is that? If you buy the big green refuse bags for garden waste, as the Council never give you anywhere near enough, not all brands of them are accepted as recyclable by the Council. I'd also like to see a collection, say once a month, for broken down electrical items, as they are very hard to dispose of if you don't have your own transport. AnotherSister

7:17pm Thu 27 Sep 12

whataday says...

When you drive through Castle Point and see all the rubbish bags along the road it doesnt give a very good first impression. Castle Point could save a lot more money in the long run if they provided householders with wheelie bins instead of plastic bags and it would certainly look a lot better
When you drive through Castle Point and see all the rubbish bags along the road it doesnt give a very good first impression. Castle Point could save a lot more money in the long run if they provided householders with wheelie bins instead of plastic bags and it would certainly look a lot better whataday

11:26pm Thu 27 Sep 12

APR says...

Not bad if true. I don't know what the situation is now, but Rochford found that recycling was costing them a lot money.
Not bad if true. I don't know what the situation is now, but Rochford found that recycling was costing them a lot money. APR

11:35pm Thu 27 Sep 12

jaguarxxv says...

...and the £50K was recycled into a cycle on Vic House corner - brilliant!!
...and the £50K was recycled into a cycle on Vic House corner - brilliant!! jaguarxxv

Comments are closed on this article.

click2find

About cookies

We want you to enjoy your visit to our website. That's why we use cookies to enhance your experience. By staying on our website you agree to our use of cookies. Find out more about the cookies we use.

I agree