Much improved Recycle Centre

I visited the improved Bracknell Longshot Lane recycle centre this week. I was quite impressed. There are now more bays, a well ordered drive through system and plenty of recycle waste options. I was able to recycle my water cartridge filters, shoes, Books, cloths and drink cartons.

The staff were also very helpful and the site was very clean. Longshot Lane is open to 8pm during the summer weeks so I was able to go later on a work day.

Bracknell Reading and Wokingham councils have formed an organisation called RE3 which is a partnership between Bracknell, Reading and Wokingham Borough Councils and the Waste Recycling Group (WRG). The idea behind this setup is to decrease waste and increase recycling and composting with the aim of reducing the amount of waste sent to landfill.

I was very please to see the site working well and fully support efforts made to improve recycling in our borough.

The RE3 annual report can be viewed here

Covered by Bracknell radio http://radiobracknell.wordpress.com/2009/07/13/re3-fresh-for-local-waste-centre/

Reading List covered this story back in March

http://bythemuddybanksofthethames.blogspot.com/2009/03/zeroing-in-on-less-commercial-rubbish.html

UPDATE: Reading List post about Longshot Lane and RE3

http://bythemuddybanksofthethames.blogspot.com/2009/07/no-time-to-waste.html

Supermarket Waste and Packaging

There has recently been a few reports in the news on the ongoing supermarket packaging issue after the Local Government Association recently called on WRAP asking them to to publish, every three months, the amount of packaging each supermarket produces.

Supermarket waste and packaging adds to the costs of householders council tax bills as it adds to the waste in all our bins for landfill. This can be reduced by having more card and less plastic packaging or reduced packaging of both the hard plunnets and wrapping varieties (Currently within Bracknell most soft plastics can not be recycled through the bin collections).

Every year, the major stores provide details of waste to the government’s waste reduction body (WRAP) giving details of how much packaging they generate. However despite requests by the Local Government Association (LGA) for this information to be made public, both WRAP and most supermarkets do not.

Of the major supermarkets contacted by the LGA, only Waitrose, M&S and Morrisons provided details about how much packaging they produce. Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Co-op all referred councils to WRAP who failed to disclose how much packaging each supermarket produces. Lidl gave no reply and Aldi were not included in the requests.

I was please to see that Bracknell very own Waitrose (HQ based in Bracknell and employing around 2,500 people) responded and are fully signed up to WRAP. Waitrose have been recycling there own waste for 20 years. It is of course a big shame that the Shop in Birth Hill was closed (Aldi opened at the same site on Thursday). Waitrose was located too far from a main road and past the Sainsbury's supermarket. I hope that a Waitrose store will one day return to Bracknell.

However the LGA did perform there own research here were Waitrose did not perform so well when it comes to the actual recyclable waste.

I hope the LGA get their request to have WRAP publish, every three months, so that the public can track the reductions in waste produced by supermarkets.


Links for the above

WRAP http://www.wrap.org.uk/

LGA Reprot on Packaging http://www.lga.gov.uk/lga/aio/1616668

Supermarket Waste Report http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/supermarket-waste-hits-new-high-780513.html

Waitrose investing in Bracknell http://www.getbracknell.co.uk/jobs/news/s/2053970_waitrose_investing_millions_in_bracknell

Waitrose Packaging policy http://www.waitrose.com/food/foodissuesandpolicies/packaging.aspx