Wheelie bins for recycling await collection. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty
Local councils are getting tough on residents who won't sort their rubbish, writes Ashionye Ogene. Four borough councils in London have brought in compulsory recycling schemes, while in Devon they've resorted to taking a resident to court over the contents of her wheelie bin.
Donna Challice was prosecuted for contaminating her recycling waste, however magistrates in Cullompton cleared her of the charges on Monday.
Despite the ruling going against Exeter council, it has pledged to chase people it accuses of being persistent recycling offenders through the courts. Councillor Pete Edwards, Exeter City Council's member for environment and leisure, has this message for any Exeter residents tempted to flout its recycling rules: "Every day, thousands of people in the city diligently sort through their rubbish, separating residual waste from recyclables. It only takes one person to contaminate their green bin and we have to discard a whole lorry-load of recyclables. We cannot let the thoughtless minority spoil it for the selfless majority."
Meanwhile the compulsory recycling schemes currently being run in the boroughs of Barnet, Harrow, Hackney and Bromley have proved to be a success.
Hackney council notes there has been a 20% rise in recycling levels since it became compulsory at the end of February. And Barnet has had calls from more than 30 other councils across the country inquiring about how its high-profile scheme works. Waltham Forest and Lewisham are soon set to follow suit.
Some councils insist their intention is not to intimidate and punish residents, but rather to encourage them to care for their environment. A representative at Westminster council told me, "Councils understand people don't like being told what to do. We try to encourage and not encroach through money incentives and readily available information on how and where to recycle."
Whatever the method, the recycling message does seem to be finally getting through. British households are now recycling 23% of their waste: nine years ago the figure was just 7.5%. Britain still has a long way to go compared to the rest of Europe - most notably Norway which recycles 68% of its waste.
