Croydon’s recycling rate rockets after bin collection changes

Croydon has achieved a 48 per cent recycling rate – a nine per cent increase from this time last year – after major changes to household recycling and waste collections.

Initial figures show the new collection arrangements, which were first introduced in September 2018, have helped make the borough greener.

The new bin collections were a major service change, designed to boost the borough’s recycling rate to more than 50 per cent by September 2020. Most homes in Croydon were given a new blue-lidded 240-litre wheelie bin for paper, along with a 240-litre wheelie bin for plastic, metal and glass, giving them significantly more space to recycle.

At the same time, changes to 75% of residents’ collection days made the system more efficient across Croydon and neighbouring boroughs.

The current recycling rate is just two per cent off the final target, with one year still to go.

The changes to household waste and recycling collections are among a raft of initiatives Croydon Council is introducing to make the borough greener. In July, Croydon declared a climate and ecological emergency, with the council announcing more funding for green initiatives.

Other measures include increasing the number of School Streets in Croydon, making it easier to cycle, introducing major discounts to parking permits for environmentally-friendly cars and working to make the council carbon neutral by 2030.

Missed collections should be reported online through the My Account system on our website at my.croydon.gov.uk

“This phenomenal increase is thanks to the dedication of our residents. They’ve embraced the new recycling system and it’s great to see it is already paying dividends.

“It was challenging to introduce the new collection schedule and I’m grateful to all our staff who worked hard but these positive steps show it was all worthwhile.

“With a little more work over the coming year there’s no reason Croydon couldn’t recycle the highest proportion of waste across London. Recycling as much as possible will help us tackle the climate and ecological emergency Croydon and the rest of the globe faces.”

Councillor Stuart Collins, deputy leader – Clean Green Croydon

Missed collections should be reported online through the My Account system on our website at my.croydon.gov.uk

2019-09-02T19:59:36+01:00 September 2nd, 2019|Recent news|