Waste trucks new look encourages recycling

From this month, Southend residents will be able to see new information panels on the trucks to help raise awareness about recycling and reducing waste.  

Southend-on-Sea Borough Council's Executive Councillor for Public Protection, Waste and Transport, Councillor Tony Cox said: "As we aim to reach a recycling rate of 60 per cent by 2015, we are doing all we can to help residents realise how simple our recycling services are to use.  

"We want to look after the environment today, so that we can have a better tomorrow.

"The new panels are easy to spot and they'll show how everyone can make the most of our brilliant, yet simple services."  

The vehicles used for food waste, recycling and refuse collections will each have their own separate design and information. The three designs are:

• Landfill - Putting waste in your black sack means that it will go to a landfill where harmful climate changing gases will be produced. By reducing this, and reusing and recycling more, we can all help to protect the environment.
• Recycling - Recycling materials in your pink sacks has never been easier. Recyclable materials include: household plastic packages such as food and drink containers, film wraps and trays, glass bottles and jars, aluminium and steel cans, paper and cardboard, and aerosols.
• Food waste - Recycling food waste in your designated blue bin can be turned into useful compost and renewable energy. If you don't have a blue food waste bin yet, you can order one from Southend-on-Sea Borough Council's website wwww.southend.gov.uk/recycling. There, you can also find a full list of all recycling services in Southend.  

Southend-on-Sea offers a weekly kerbside collection scheme of the following: 

• Recycling using pink recycling sacks
• Textiles and clothing using clear textile recycling sacks
• Unavoidable cooked and uncooked food waste using blue food waste collection bin
• Refuse (landfill waste) using black refuse sacks
• Garden waste using the green bin (opt into scheme)
• Garden waste pre-paid compostable sacks (opt into scheme)

Cory Environmental is one of the UK's leading recycling, waste management and energy recovery companies. For more information, visit http://www.coryenvironmental.co.uk/