Recycled disorganisation

Less than two weeks before a change to their recycling service, Swindon Borough Council has only just started to publicise the change. A story in the Adver tells us of the change.

The move is in response to residents’ irritation that only plastic bottles can be collected as part of the council’s recycling process. But from July 1 yoghurt pots, margarine tubs, take-away containers and much more can all be bagged up for the council to collect…. The only plastic that cannot be collected under the new scheme is black plastic because it cannot be separated from other colours by the waste processors the rubbish is sent to.

Residents are asked to put their mixed plastics into clear or white plastic sacks which can be bought at supermarkets. They can also use the council’s clear bags for plastic bottles, although no more will be delivered.

The new collection will be on the same day as residents’ wheelie bin collections. For those on weekly blue bag collections it will be the same day as the green waste and plastic bottle collections.

I wouldn’t usually quote at such length, but at the moment this is the only information we have on the change. In its very limited wisdom, the council has not yet put any information about the change on its website. If the council really wants people to recycle more, they need to make rather more effort to publicise these changes. It seems they’ve learnt nothing from the farcical publicity that accompanied the introduction of wheelie bins and weekly recycling collections.