Garden waste collections due to start

ROTHERHAM’S recyclers are being reminded of the changes being planned to their cardboard and garden waste collections later this month.

Rotherham Borough Council’s current “card only” green bin collection service is due to end on Friday, March 16, and will be followed from Monday, March 19, with new separate garden waste and cardboard collections.

Only garden waste should be placed in the green bin for collection and eventual composting and householders will be asked to put any card—together with newspapers, magazines and other paper—into their blue bag for recycling.

Large pieces of corrugated card that will not fit into the blue bag can be flattened, folded to about 2ft by 1ft in size and put under the blue bag or blue box for collection.

The council said that it hoped to issue larger blue bags will be available later in the year but extra blue bags, if required, could be requested in the mean time contacting the Rotherham Streetpride Helpline on 01709 336003.

There will be no change to any collection days and the blue box collection is not affected at all.

The change from dual garden waste and cardboard to individual collections is being made because of new composting guidance by the Government’s Waste Resources

Action Programme (WRAP) and the Association for Organics Recycling (AfOR).

Cllr Richard Russell, the council’s Cabinet member for waste, said the best way to conform to the new standards was to no longer collect green bins containing the old mix of garden waste and cardboard.

He added: “We do hope that Rotherham householders will take on board the new arrangements.

“Rotherham people have played a huge part in the borough’s recycling success and I am sure they will soon get the hang of the new scheme.

“We have to make separate collections now because unfortunately, the old way of collecting garden waste and cardboard together is no longer a sustainable option.”

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