Council on anti rubbish campaign

11:36am Friday 17th August 2001

BROMLEY Council has sent clear signals it is cleaning up its act after announcing a £200m project for rubbish collection and depositing.

The contract, which will run for 14 years, has been awarded to French firm Onyx (UK).

It will bring significant changes to the way the council collects rubbish from residents, enabling paper, glass, plastics and cans to be recycled.

Rather than being deposited in a landfill site, waste will be taken to the South East London Combined Heat and Power Plant, in Lewisham, where it will be converted into energy.

A separate garden waste collection scheme will also be introduced with green waste being composted on farms.

The company will be responsible for collecting and disposing the 200,000 tonnes of rubbish thrown away by Bromley residents every year.

Bromley's rubbish is currently buried in a landfill site in Essex at a cost of £12 per tonne in tax alone.

But the council has acted after being warned by the Government these costs are set to rise.

Environmental Services chairman Councillor Jenny Hillier said: “The agreement will enable us to give residents a comprehensive recycling service.

“We literally cannot afford to continue disposing of our rubbish as we have done.”

Editor's Choice