Forums to explain this autumn's new recycling opportunities
- Saturday, 30 June 2012 14:37
Local residents will be able to hear at first hand how a new household waste and recycling service will work throughout the Derbyshire Dales when it launches this autumn.
The next round of Area Community Forums will be staged in July at Derbyshire Dales District Council venues in Ashbourne, Bakewell and Matlock - and once again people who can't attend in person can ask questions online in advance. The first session in Ashbourne on 2 July will also feature a live Twitter feed.
The main talking point will be the District Council's new waste and recycling collection service, which will be launched in October, increasing recycling opportunities and saving Council Tax payers £385,000 a year.
The Forums are just one way the District Council will be communicating the upcoming change in household collections – information leaflets will also be posted to every Dales household and roadshows are planned.
Following extensive consultation, from October over 30,000 households in the Derbyshire Dales will be able to look forward to a new weekly collection of food waste using kerbside caddies. An improved fortnightly recycling service will see more recycling at kerbside including, for the first time, mixed rigid plastics and batteries.
The new service - which contributed to the District Council being able to freeze Council Tax again this year - will be much simpler with all recycling material being collected from a new single blue-lidded wheeled bin from the autumn. Garden waste will continue in green bins fortnightly, and any waste left over will then be collected in black bins fortnightly.
Alternative systems will be introduced for properties that cannot accommodate wheeled bins. This is another first – it means recycling services will be available for every household in the Derbyshire Dales.
Additionally, this summer improvements will happen at District Council recycling containers located throughout the Derbyshire Dales at sites including car parks and supermarkets, with greater opportunities to recycle cardboard and beverage cartons.
Leader of Derbyshire Dales District Council Councillor Lewis Rose OBE said:
"We consulted widely before taking the decision to increase recycling opportunities and have listened not only to local people but to residents in other areas where this type of operation works incredibly well. The Forums are the first opportunity we've had to explain the service changes to local residents, and we urge as many people as possible to come along.
"This is the sort of initiative we like – one that cuts costs but also improves an important service for local people.
"I want to stress however that the Forums are just one of the ways we will be communicating the household collection changes. Every household will receive an information pack, we'll be getting out and about into communities explaining the changes and our online information will be enhanced before the changes happen with a new postcode search facility for residents.
"If after receiving their information in the autumn residents still have any questions, we will of course have easy communication channels for them."
Implementation of the new waste & recycling service presentation
All the forums start at 7pm and dates are:
- Monday 2 July – Ashbourne Leisure Centre
- Tuesday 17 July – Agricultural Business Centre, Bakewell
- Monday 23 July – Town Hall, Matlock
Derbyshire County Council will be using the July forums to talk about Adult Social Care and Part Night Street Lighting.
The forums provide an opportunity for residents to informally meet representatives of the District Council and other organisations.
The customary Question Time session will enable audience members to ask questions and make comments and suggestions to the various representatives from participating authorities, which, in addition to the District Council, usually include Derbyshire Constabulary, Derbyshire County Council and the Peak District National Park Authority and Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service.
Ask questions online or by email at communityforum@derbyshiredales.gov.uk. Follow the first forum live on Twitter.
