Residents urged to recycle as brown bin collection resumes

THE regular emptying of garden waste from brown bins has begun once again across Leeds.

It was suspended over the Christmas and New Year holidays – a time of year when the local authority says demand is traditionally low.

Residents are being asked to put out their brown bin on their normal scheduled collection day ready for emptying.

Those who are unsure about when their next collection day is can use Leeds Council’s website to check. Go to www.leeds.gov.uk, enter the phrase “bin days” into the search box in the top right hand corner and click the double arrow icon.

There are over 190,000 brown bins in Leeds and since the scheme started in 2006 more than 37,000 tonnes of waste has been collected and sent for composting instead of being buried.

The bins can be filled with grass and hedge cuttings, fruit which has fallen to the ground, leaves, dead house or bedding plants, weeds, twigs and small branches.

The brown bins are just one way waste from across Leeds is kept out of landfill. The council also uses green bins to collect materials for recycling – with paper, cardboard, drinks cans and some plastics all accepted.

There are also 480 sites across the city where people can bring items including glass, paper, cans, textiles, plastic bottles and plastic bags for recycling. Eleven larger household waste sites accept many items for reuse and disposal.

The authority said yesterday that extra effort will be put towards diverting more waste from landfill during 2010.

Over the coming months, hundreds of more homes will be given a green bin and a trial of food waste collections in Rothwell will get underway.

Coun James Monaghan, executive board member with responsibility for refuse collections, said: “Getting the regular cycle of brown and green bin collections back up and running has been a top priority for the council.

“We’re also really excited about the further improvements that will be made to recycling services in Leeds this year.

“It’s crucial we stop more rubbish from going to landfill.

“Not only is burying our waste in the ground bad for the environment, it costs more as well which is a burden the tax payers of Leeds shouldn’t have to bear.”