Worcestershire is scheduled to open a new recycling facility next year and one environmental group is already pushing County Hall to recycle more household waste as a result.
Robert Wilkins of the One Planet Worcester group said it is important for residents to be able to recycle as many items from their household as possibly in order to fully take advantage of the multi-million dollar plant scheduled to open in September 2009.
He suggested items such as yogurt pots, Tetra packs, margarine tubs and thick cardboard be allowed into local green bins and sent to the Norton plant.
The new facility should have the facilities to handle recycling of all of the above materials, however increasing the range of materials processed at the plant would require an additional investment by the Worcestershire County Council, which seems unlikely.
Derek Prodger, the county’s cabinet member for the environment, said that he would be pushing for more money to make the Norton plant “comprehensive recycling facility” but a final council decision on the matter will not be made until early next year.
Mr. Wilkins said cost should not be the main factor in this case, that the important thing was to recycle everything possible. “I would be seriously disappointed if they didn’t step up to the challenge and allow people to recycle as much as possible,” he said.
“As far as I can see, there’s really no other option. Landfill sites are filling up, and there will be penalties against local authorities that don’t increase their recycling rates.
“If you don’t recycle these plastics, they blow around and they take centuries to break down.”
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