WEST Devon Borough Council is asking residents for their opinion on the future of waste collection, recycling, street and public cleaning services.

Over the next three years, the council has set itself some very challenging targets to reduce the amount of waste thrown away by households and see more of what is thrown away recycled into new products.

Consulting residents on the current service will help the borough council to understand how the service can be improved to meet their targets, while keeping the residents’ needs at the heart of any decisions they make.

Cllr Robert Sampson lead member for commercial services said: ‘We constantly review the services we provide to ensure that we are delivering good value for money, and that includes helping residents to recycle as much household waste as possible.

‘Currently we collect approximately 20,000 tonnes of household waste a year, of which about 11,400 tonnes are already recycled. 

‘Looking to the future we have set ourselves some ambitious targets.  We would like to help residents reduce the amount of overall waste they produce and by 2019 we would like to recycle two thirds of the waste we collect. We believe that this is possible, but we need our residents to help us understand how the current service works for them.

‘West Devon residents currently recycle around 57% of their waste. However, the cost of recycling is rising and to continue to provide a cost effective service we need your help to design the best possible service.’

The survey is available on the West Devon Borough Council’s website or paper copies can be collected from the council offices in Tavistock and Okehampton.