How much waste?
The amount of waste collected from households and businesses by
local authorities in the UK is increasing by about 3% every year.
Last year in West Lancashire, the District Council collected almost
40,000 tonnes of household waste and a further 20,000 tonnes was
taken to the three household waste/recycling sites.
Why recycle?
One way to make better use of the materials that are thrown away is
to recycle them so that they can be used again. Recycling waste
items conserves stocks of raw materials (such as minerals and oil)
and uses less energy (usually, electricity) than the processing of
virgin materials. For example, when 1,000 glass bottles are
recycled to make new bottles (rather than starting with sand and
other raw materials), enough energy is saved to run 34 households
for one day.
Many of the materials making up household waste could easily be
recycled, and facilities are available for people to use throughout
the District. Every home in the District can now use the
fortnightly door-to-door collection scheme for recycling of
newspapers and magazines, glass bottles and jars, and garden waste.
Cans and plastic bottles are also collected in many parts of the
District. Recycling facilities for materials such as newspapers,
glass, cans, clothing, books and so on are located across the
District. For more information please see the Refuse and Recycling
section.
Home composting
Composting is a natural process which turns organic waste such as
grass cuttings, hedge clippings and vegetable peelings into a
valuable soil improver for gardens. Around 30% of household waste
can be composted, and it is this part of such waste that can give
rise to most of the pollution at landfills - so composting is an
all round environmental winner!
We have a partnership arrangement through the Lancashire Waste
Management Strategy Agreement whereby the Home Composting Liaison
Officer based at Lancashire County Council, is available to answer
all composting queries.
Residents can also apply for a free compost bin and kitchen waste
bin by either phoning the Compost Helpline on 0845 658 8550.
For more information on composting, or a free leaflet on 'Simple
Composting - How to make a heap!' call 01695 585197 or email
peter.bradford@westlancsdc.gov.uk
Recycling statistics
Last year, a total of 10,822 tonnes of West Lancashire's household
waste was diverted from the waste stream for recycling. When added
to the estimated amount of material composted, the proportion of
household waste recycled is approx. 23%.