Local Lib Dem Councillor Welcomes Increased Recycling (Sutton Coldfield and Erdington Liberal Democrats)

Sutton Coldfield and Erdington Liberal Democrats <info@suttonanderdingtonlibdems.org.uk>

Local Lib Dem Councillor Welcomes Increased Recycling

June 24, 2008 5:47 PM

Cllr Ann Holtom - campaigning for a cleaner, greener Tyburn Ward

Cllr Ann Holtom, Tyburn Ward's Liberal Democrat representative has welcomed the news that there was an 8% jump in Birmingham's recycling rate during 2007/08. To coincide with National Recycling Week which took place from 2-8 June, the City Council announced that 26.81% of the city's waste was recycled during 2007-2008 - a total of over 122,000 tonnes.

Cllr Holtom welcomed the progress made to boost levels of recycling across Birmingham. "The Lib Dems on the City Council have led the way in increasing recycling in Birmingham after 20 years of Labour failure," said Cllr Holtom. "I know from my contacts with Tyburn residents that more and more residents seem to be asking for the recycle boxes as they want to 'do their bit' for recycling".

Improving the environment and making Birmingham a cleaner and greener place has been a key feature of Lib Dem campaigning. With the support of local residents, local Lib Dems called for the regular kerbside collections of glass, plastic bottles and tin cans (as well as paper and cardboard) that now take place across the city.

More can still be done to increase recycling (and reduce the amount that goes to landfill) and as part of the recent Climate Change Festival, Birmingham City Council is asking residents to increase the amount of waste they recycle over the coming months by at least 20 kg per person.

For example:

Recycling 2 glass bottles or 20 tin/food cans per week equates to 5kg per year
The average person in the UK throws away more than 200kg of paper every year. Recycling just a tenth of this would hit the target.
Liberal Democrat Councillors Alistair Dow and Robert Wright playing their part in increasing recycling across Birmingham.

The average UK home throws away 1/3 of all food without consuming it - the equivalent of 300kg per year