Maidenhead & Windsor

Good (green) eggs in the Maidenhead Royal Borough can help crack the local waste bill and prevent the council shelling out more than necessary on landfill tax.

This time of year gives Maidenhead borough residents the opportunity to make egg-cellent progress on recycling by:

* putting all cardboard packaging from chocolate eggs into the BLACK recycling boxes
* composting lawn clippings and other garden waste as the growing season gets under way.

Maidenhead Cllr Simon Werner, lead member for public protection, said: "Since the council's new recycling arrangements started last autumn we have seen increasing support for recycling, with 30% of our rubbish now being diverted from landfill – and Easter is a great time to spring into action to cut the waste mountain even further. Easter egg wrappings add up to more than 4,300 tonnes of waste across the country each year and we can all help make a huge dent in this by simply recycling. It couldn't be easier – just put them in black recycling boxes for weekly collection."

Maidenhead Cllr Werner underlined the financial incentive to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill sites. The government has increased landfill tax by a further £3 a tonne this year, so it now costs the council a total of £41 for every tonne of waste sent to landfill – more than £2 million in the year ahead unless the amount of rubbish put into wheelie bins is drastically reduced.

He added: "This is a massive burden on council tax but if all our residents become keen recyclers we can continue to make a real reduction in the waste bill."

More than 80 million Easter eggs are sold in the UK each year and Maidenhead Royal Borough's message is
Send packaging packing!

Foil wrappings should be saved and taken to one of the borough's eight bring sites which have distinctive yellow foil collection containers:

* Grange Car Park, High Street, Ascot
* Cookham Railway Station
* Shopping Parade, Wessex Way, Maidenhead
* Magnet Leisure Centre, Maidenhead
* Civic Amenity Site, Stafferton Way, Maidenhead
* Sutherland Grange, Maidenhead Road, Windsor
* Windsor Leisure Centre, Stovell Road, Windsor
* Tinkers Lane, Windsor.

Consider composting
Composting is nature's own way of waste disposal, using leaves, grass, shrub clippings and a wide range of household waste. It makes an excellent soil conditioner and mulch, which helps to make gardens grow in the future.

Composting at home couldn't be simpler these days with bins designed to help the process by retaining heat and keeping piles of material tidy in the garden.

To promote composting, the council is currently offering subsidised composting bins from as little as £6. Full details are in the spring edition of Around the Royal Borough, the council's magazine distributed to local households last month, or by calling the customer service centre. Information about composting is available on the council's website www.rbwm.gov.uk/waste_man/wm_home_composting.htm

Alternatively, residents can:

* take green waste to the household recycling centre at Stafferton Way, Maidenhead
* arrange for green waste to be collected. This is a free appointment service which can be booked on 01628 796844.

Further information about recycling is available on 01628 683801 or on the council's website www.rbwm.gov.uk

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead