Lukewarm response to glass recycling plan

A glass recycling scheme targeted at business enterprises in Harborough district could see the light of day before summer.

Harborough District Council intends to begin the collection service by the end of Spring and is encouraging business enterprises to register their interest in the glass recycling scheme.

Close to a hundred letters have been mailed to enterprises such as bars and clubs in the district informing them about the glass recycling scheme. Though the scheme is intended to increase the commercial recycling rates, Harborough District Council is disappointed with the lukewarm response the plan has elicited so far.

The scheme has seen business enterprises slapped with a 6 to 10 per cent increase in the cost of their general waste collections and some are worried that the glass recycling service will also come with its own charges on top of what they are already paying. The council has not announced charges yet.

The landlord of the Kings Head in Church Street, Nick Mason, disclosed that the bar uses close to eight hundred bottles weekly and they are all discarded in a landfill because Harborough District Council does not offer glass recycling services currently. He declared his support for glass recycling but argued that the council should not charge extra for glass recycling services.

The owner of Joules Yard, Ian Joule was also supportive of glass recycling but warned that if the glass recycling service came at an extra cost then that would have to be passed on to the customers.

Close to a hundred and thirty business enterprises use the Harborough District Council’s cardboard collection service while forty five use its paper collection service. This helps in rerouting approximately a hundred and forty five tonnes of waste from going into landfills annually.