Maidenhead & Windsor

As the cost of sending waste to landfill increases by £8 a tonne tomorrow (Tuesday April 1) the Royal Windsor and Maidenhead Borough has issued a call to local residents: Recycle more, pay less tax!

Cllr Paul Etherington, chairman of the Windsor and Maidenhead sustainability panel, explained: "It now costs the council £58 to dispose of every tonne of waste – £32 of which is landfill tax. That's 32 big reasons for all of us to increase our household recycling and composting.

"The UK is only a few years away from exhausting existing landfill sites and the government has made it clear that landfill tax will keep on rising by £8 a tonne until 2011 – so the less we send to landfill the less we pay and the easier it will be for the borough to help keep our council tax rises as low as possible in the future."

During the past year (2007/08) the Royal Windsor and Maidenhead Borough sent 45,000 tonnes of waste to landfill – 1,000 tonnes less than in 2006/07 but still amounting to more than £1 million in landfill tax.

Cllr Etherington added: "Continuing to send waste to landfill is just not an option at these prices. It is not only hard on the pocket but is also completely unsustainable and severely damaging to our environment."

Cllr Alison Knight, lead member for strategy, said: "Some 27% of the waste that goes into wheelie bins in the Royal Borough comes from our kitchens and gardens and could easily be recycled. That's why the council is currently giving away 5,000 free composters to local residents.

"We want to encourage people away from their wheelie bins towards turning their kitchen and garden waste into useful compost that can be used to help gardens grow more beautiful in the summers ahead.

"Around one and a half thousand of the borough's free composters have been ordered so there are still plenty up for grabs."

Windsor and Maidenhead Residents who would like a free composter should call 0845 077 0757 or order online at www.recyclenow.com/compost

Once the supply of free composters has run out, 220-litre composters and also larger bins will be available to residents at reduced prices. More information is available at www.rbwm.gov.uk/web/wm_home_composting.htm

Good materials for composting include everyday kitchen waste such as fruit and vegetable peelings, eggshells and tea bags. Garden waste such as grass cuttings, hedge trimmings, leaves, dead flowers and weeds as well as shredded cardboard and newspaper are also good composting materials. Instructions come with each bin.

Information about how to compost easily is on the council's website at www.rbwm.gov.uk/web/wm_home_composting.htm

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead