Islington is celebrating new figures showing residents recycled nearly a quarter of their household waste during the month of June.
A record 23.6 percent of household waste was recycled - up from 21 percent in April. Glass, aluminium, paper, card, plastic and kitchen and garden waste are all now collected weekly from street properties using the green and brown box schemes. New facilities and collections have been rolled out on estates too.
The council's Swapxchange website (http://www.swapxchangeislington.org/) shows people where they can find a new home for a variety of goods including unwanted furniture, toys, music equipment and even cars. Last year it helped to keep 1436kg of material out of landfill. A record number of visitors (982) used the website in June making a total of 6940 since its launch in October 2005.
In addition, The Real Nappy Scheme also recently gave out its 150th incentive payment to parents for using real nappies. Under the scheme, the council gives a £54 cash-back payment on the first purchase of real nappies.
Cllr Lucy Watt, Executive Member for Environment said:
"When you think that just two short years ago Islington's recycling rate was still in single figures, this news is a real tribute to the enthusiasm with which Islington residents and businesses have embraced recycling.
"Recycling keeps material out of landfill, which is becoming an increasingly rare and expensive disposal option.
"We know we need to make using recycling services as easy as possible - so we'll carry on continuing to innovate to increase recycling rates further."
Last year, people in Islington recycled:
4428 tonnes of paper
1641 tonnes of glass
50 tonnes of aluminium
ENDS
Page Last Updated: 29 July 2008