TRIAL FOR KERBSIDE COLLECTION OF GLASS

A trial of the kerbside collection of glass will go ahead following agreement from councillors attending Woking Borough Council's Executive meeting last night (Thursday 27 July).

The trial, which is likely to be introduced on one collection round in the Borough early in 2007, will mean that some residents taking part in the trial will be able to put glass items in their blue recycling bin or sack. If the trial is successful, the kerbside collection of glass could be introduced Borough-wide from October 2007, following the installation of new sorting equipment in Surrey.

It is anticipated there will be many benefits to extending the existing recycling service to include glass. As well as making it easier for residents to recycle glass, it will mean that less waste has to be sent to landfill. The scheme is not likely to result in an increase in the number of vehicle movements around the Borough which will limit CO2 emissions and keep costs down.

Currently, glass is not collected with other recyclable materials because it breaks in the collection vehicle and contaminates other recyclables. The current sorting process is not able to separate glass from other materials but recent developments in the technology used for sorting waste mean that equipment is now available which can separate out glass from other recyclable materials.

Households that will be taking part in the trial will be contacted later in the year. Residents that are not taking part in the trial should continue to take glass to the bottle banks at one of the recycling sites across the Borough which can be found on the Council's website www.woking.gov.uk

Cllr Ken Howard, Woking Borough Council's Portfolio Holder for Recycling, said: "We are happy to participate in the trial because we would like to help residents to increase the amount of recycling and continue our work on becoming a more environmentally friendly Borough. We are keen to encourage residents not taking part in the trial to continue taking glass to their nearest recycling sites."