Maidenhead & Windsor

Royal Windsor and Maidenhead Borough residents now have the opportunity to recycle even more of their household rubbish, thanks to a new scheme launched in conjunction with Tetra Pak Ltd and the carton industry body ACE UK (Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment).

Five new Windsor and Maidenhead recycling bins have been set up at convenient locations for the paper-based cartons increasingly used for everyday household products like milk, fruit juices, chopped tomatoes and wine.

The new bins can be found at:

* Grange Car Park, High Street, Ascot
* Magnet Leisure Centre, Holmanleaze, Maidenhead
* Household Waste Recycling Centre, Stafferton Way, Maidenhead
* Windsor Leisure Centre, Stovell Road, Windsor
* Tinkers Lane Depot, Tinkers Lane, Windsor.

Cllr Paul Etherington, chairman of the Windsor and Maidenhead council's sustainability panel, said: "Local residents have always responded well to the different recycling schemes the council has implemented across the borough and, thanks to their efforts, we are now recycling more than 33% of household waste."

"However, we still have some tough targets to meet, both as a borough and as a nation. We're delighted that Tetra Pak and the carton industry are supporting us to help increase the number of cartons recycled and, if the scheme is successful, we would like to see collection banks introduced to more locations to make them even more accessible across the community."

Each year UK beverage carton manufacturers produce approximately 55,000 tonnes of paper-based carton – equating to around 2.3kg of cartons per household which can now be recycled through the special collection bins. Once collected they will be taken away to be baled and transported to a recycling mill and turned into a range of different products – from plasterboard liner to high-strength paper bags and envelopes.

Richard Hands, environment manager at Tetra Pak Ltd and chairman of ACE UK, added: "Whilst cartons have been successfully recycled in large volumes for many years throughout Europe, the UK has a long way to go. It's therefore fantastic news that the Royal Borough is taking a lead by adding cartons to the list of materials for recycling and we very much hope that the initiative is successful.

"We and our industry partners are committed to increasing the level of carton recycling in the UK with the aim of reaching a national network of carton collection by the end of 2008. Our work with the Royal Borough takes us and households in the area one step closer to achieving that."

Since April last year, the UK carton industry has made £1.5 million available to help local authorities interested in starting up carton collection schemes in their area. There are already over 280 district areas collecting cartons, which will result in a national network of coverage during the next 18 months. The carton industry continues to work with new paper mills to trial carton recycling to ensure the industry can cater for the increase as more areas come on board.

For more information on recycling in the Royal Borough call 01628 683802 or visit www.rbwm.gov.uk

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead