Recycling incentives to be trialled
Last updated | 31/05/2008
Incentive schemes designed to promote the benefits of recycling household waste and encourage even more residents to get into the recycling habit will be considered by the Environment Committee at its next meeting on Wednesday 4 June 2008.
Significant public support and participation has already helped the Council to surpass national targets for recycling and composting, reaching the 2008 target of 30% of all waste two years early.
Maintaining and expanding that level of support and involvement is vital to continuing to increase the amount of waste diverted from landfill. A recent national assessment of pilot incentives has shown the importance of raising awareness - 81% of the schemes had a positive impact in this way, and 57% led to an increase in the amount of waste recycled.
Several incentive schemes are proposed:
- extending the existing green waste prize draw at Recycling Centres to cover householders depositing any recyclable or compostable waste. The prize draw would also be broadened to cover the 77 Recycling Points throughout the Perth and Kinross area.
- in tandem with the roll-out of the kerbside collection scheme, properties taking part in the scheme will be selected at random. Households will win vouchers if they are found to be recycling correctly by separating their waste into the different recycling bins.
- Community groups and schools who take an interest in reducing, reusing and recycling their waste and visit the WEBWalk (Waste Education Boardwalk) at Friarton Recycling Centre will be asked to fill out a quiz form, with a monthly winner receiving £100 of vouchers relating to leisure, healthy living or sustainability.
The trial schemes will be tested out over a fixed period of time and assessed on their success in relation to raising awareness and increasing levels of waste recycled.
Environment Convener, Councillor Alan Grant said: "The success locally of recycling initiatives has been down in a major part to the support and participation of our communities. We want this trend to continue and grow and so we are looking at ways in which we might encourage even greater use of Recycling Centres, Points and the kerbside collection service. I will be interested to hear in due course what impact the incentive schemes have on our already high recycling rate."
