Skegness Magazine

EAST Lindsey residents are up for a top award from the Local Government Channel because of their commitment to recycling.

According to the latest performance data from East Lindsey District Council, which still has to be audited nationally, the recycling rate in the District has now risen to 60% – up more than 2.5% on the record-breaking performance in 2007/08 of 58.4%.

In November DEFRA confirmed that East Lindsey residents were the UK’s number 1 recyclers and they had jumping a staggering 285 places up the recycling league table in just two years.

From today (May 5, 2009), the community can log onto http://www.localgovernmentchannel.com/awards/ or visit their local East Lindsey District Council customer service centre to cast their vote to help the District win this high profile and important award, which is recognition for everyone’s hard work.  The community can also text vote by sending LGATV 3 VictoriaB to 80039.

Victoria Burgess (pictured), a familiar face to many families, supported the introduction of the three wheeled bin recycling service to 64,000 homes and the community engagement programme that accompanied it.  Because of this Victoria will flying the ‘Team East Lindsey’ flag in the awards, which are open for voting until July 2, 2009.

Victoria’s team of six visited over 35,000 families, held roadshows and gave talks to community groups to encourage everyone to embrace the new scheme, which for the first time meant everyone could doorstep recycle.

The Portfolio Holder for Amenities at the Council, Councillor Dick Edginton, explained: “The success of our recycling endeavours is due to a combination of the excellent work of the team, headed by Victoria, and the public who fully supported the recycling project from the word go.  Hitting a 60% recycling rate is great news for everyone.  Victoria’s well-deserved nomination is recognition of her efforts in helping East Lindsey residents become number one recyclers.  I hope Victoria and the team can count on the community’s support.”

“The response from the community was fantastic and they are responsible for the recycling revolution that has swept our District”, said finalist, Victoria. “My team worked hand in hand with the community, listening to their issues and finding practical solutions to the problems some people faced, including lack of space to house the bins.  We also provided advice on recycling to those who at first thought they couldn’t cope with the bin sizes.”

“Our change in approach to recycling has meant that we’re continuing to go from strength to strength and we must continue to keep up the good work.  I am delighted to be flying the ‘Team East Lindsey’ flag in these awards and, fingers crossed, our efforts will be recognised nationally again.  Keep up the good work!”

Facts:

o Landfill waste reduced by 20,000 tonnes and participation in recycling increased from 55% to 94.5%.
o The practical approach – assisted collections increased from 500 to 6000 properties to allow as many people as possible the opportunity to take part in recycling.
o Within 2 years recycling and composting increased from 21% to 58%. Or, from 285th to No.1 in the national recycling league table.
o Within 1 year 198,000-wheeled bins were over 700sq miles and alternate weekly collections were introduced to 64,000 properties.

The award winner will be announced on July 2 at the annual Local Government Association Conference.