More people recycling in Brighton & Hove

Recycling rates in Brighton & Hove are improving thanks to initiatives such as new wheelie bins for recycling, garden waste collections and recycling street sweepings.

Rates in the city have shot up to just over 29% from 26.7% last year.

Announcing the new figures at the Environment, Transport and Sustainability Committee today (Tuesday, 10 October), chair cllr Gill Mitchell said: “For the first quarter of this financial year, April to June, our rates have increased by 2.46% on the same period last year.

“We’ve delivered 45,000 new recycling wheelie bins in the city and they are proving popular. This, coupled with our new garden waste collections scheme which costs residents just £1 a week, is giving people more opportunities to recycle.”

The council is also responding to areas in the city where residents have difficulty storing larger recycling bins.

Cllr Mitchell added: “We are taking the time to look at what works best for residents in areas such as Poets Corner to ensure those that would prefer smaller bins get them as quickly as possible.

“There is no one size fits all, and anyone who is unable to store a wheeled bin has the option to continue using black boxes. Our aim is to make it easy and convenient for people to recycle more and I’d like to thank residents for taking the the time to recycle.”

In 2015 around 4,000 households in Hangleton and Portslade took part in a wheeled bin trial that led to a 4% increase in recycling in that area.