A staggering 1,200 tonnes of garden and card waste ? equivalent to 32 large fully-laden articulated trucks ? has been collected through West Devon Borough Council?s Green and Clean recycling scheme over the last 12 months. As the service enters its second year, new annual calendars are being delivered to the 10,000 households who receive the collections from the kerbside every fortnight. Some 66% of these households used the Green and Clean service during the peak summer months and all the waste is locally turned into top quality sustainable compost, available from many retail outlets to use in your own garden. Cllr Nick Morgan, chairman of the council?s environment and community committee, said: ?I would to thank all those who participate in this scheme. ?It?s a success story far beyond the expectations of the council members who agreed to extend West Devon?s recycling collections to cover garden and cardboard waste. ?Councillors are currently looking at ways to improve the whole of the borough?s waste collections and recently visited a site where the green waste is processed to see how all your efforts are turned into compost.? There are some improvements and changes to the service this coming year. While households are doing a great job at collecting green waste, thick bulky card is a key ingredient to the compost mix. Householders are asked to put the thick card in the bags or in a folded bundle beside the bags and a weight, such as a stone, to keep them secure. If you have extra garden waste that will not fit into the two green and clean bags, put it into strong plastic bags ? old compost bags are ideal ? and put out on your green waste collection day. Please make sure the bags are of a manageable weight to be emptied and please do not use dustbin bags. The extra service does depend on having room in the vehicle and during peak summer months, additional bags may have to be left uncollected. In the bags should go thick card, grass cuttings, hedge trimmings, weeds, plants and twigs, branches (up to the thickness of your wrist) vase flowers and thick corrugated card. For further information about the Green and Clean scheme and home composting call the council?s green waste helpline on 01822 813655.
