Suffolk has a very good record for
achieving high recycling and composting rates but is striving to
achieve even better rates in the future.
The Suffolk Waste Partnership (made up of the county and district
and borough councils) is committed to following the model below
(known as the "Waste Hierarchy") in its approach to waste
management:
We all need to take responsibility for the waste we
generate and try to minimise it. Waste minimisation is at the
top of the waste hierarchy and is the best management option.
After minimising our waste, we need to reuse as much of what is
left as possible. Only then should we look to compost or recycle
it. How we treat the residual waste in the future is
currently being looked at (see
www.suffolk.gov.uk/thefutureofwaste),
but it is clear that we can not continue to landfill as we have
done in the past.
Suffolk County Council are involved in helping the residents of
Suffolk to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle (the 3Rs) more of their waste
through:
- The
School Waste Education Service including school lessons,
activities and regular competitions to engage children in the
3Rs. To book a visit, go to the schools section of
www.suffolkrecycling.org.uk
- "Recycle your mobile" scheme to raise money for local
schools
- Public roadshows and event attendance including the Suffolk
Show, Spring and Autumn Garden Shows and local town
roadshows. The events section of
www.suffolkrecycling.org.uk
details what's coming up.
- New "Master Composters". Volunteers have been trained up
and are supported by Suffolk County Council to encourage more
people to home compost.
- Press releases giving seasonal advice on how to reduce, reuse
and recycle more waste at particular times of the year (eg
Christmas and Easter when more waste is generated)
- General information on reducing, reusing, recycling and
recovery through media such as leaflets.
Once we have reduced, reused, recycled and composted as much of
our household waste as possible, there will still be some waste
leftover. This is where the "Recover" section comes in to
force as we look to recover energy from this waste.
For more information visit
www.suffolkrecycling.org.uk
For information on most recent progress on recycling and
composting, see the Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy
Annual Report 2005/6 (PDF
936Kb)