Firstly, thank you to all those residents who have agreed to support our Green Bag Lottery by starting to recycle, recycling more regularly, or by not opting out. I’d also like to apologise to anybody who may have found our information unclear.
Council leader Gary Porter has written recently, explaining where the money to run our lottery has come from – as part of a grant from government and therefore not directly from the district council taxpayers of South Holland.
My main reason for writing is to give readers the background as to why we are working so hard to increase our recycling rates and so reduce the amount of black bag waste households generate.
The EU Waste Framework Directive states that the UK must recycle 50 per cent of household waste by 2020, which includes composting and reusing waste.
It also demands a 70 per cent minimum recycling target for construction and demolition waste by 2020. Failure to meet these targets will see huge fines imposed on the UK, up to £500,000-a-day.
The government has already made it clear that any fines imposed on the UK by the EU, because of a missed target, could be passed on to local government, which of course means the council taxpayer.
South Holland District Council is determined to avoid the potential for any such fines being imposed on our taxpayers. We will therefore be continuing to make every effort to increase the amount households recycle to at least 50 per cent and hopefully, more.
If you still have any concerns or want more information about how to increase the amount your household recycles, please get in touch with our environmental services team on 01775 761161 and ask to speak to Sam or Laura.
Coun Roger Gambba-Jones
South Holland District
Council cabinet member for waste and recycling