Date: 14/07/2006
Glossop's trial twin bin scheme has transformed members of a Gamesley family into model recyclers by helping them cut the amount of waste they throw away by at least two thirds.
James and Sharon Gee and their children Claire (4) and Callum (11 months) have become much more aware of the way they dispose of their rubbish since High Peak Borough Council launched Binnovation.
This new approach to refuse collection involves two bins - a green-lidded one for cardboard and garden waste and a black one for rubbish, each emptied every other week - to encourage people to recycle more than 60 per cent of their waste.
Glass bottles and jars and metal cans can also be stacked in a green box and newspapers, magazines, clothes and textiles put in bags for regular kerbside collection.
"I must admit, I wasn't sure about it at first, because I didn't think the black bin would be big enough to take two weeks' rubbish," said James. "But there's plenty of room, because we now recycle so many things. Before, we were filling around three black bags a week, but now it's down to just one, so there's plenty of space."
Before Binnovation, the Gees never considered the need to recycle, but now are complete converts. Cans, tins, bottles and newspapers are all regularly put out for recycling in the green box and bags supplied by the Borough Council, while the green-lidded bin takes care of all their cardboard and garden waste.
Added James: "I think the scheme is working really well. As long as you know where to put things and when to put them out for collection, it's fine. In fact, I would like the Council to add more materials to the scheme, such as plastic bottles, which take up so much room in the bin.
"It's really encouraged us to think about what we can do to help the planet by saving its precious resources, because one day they will run out. Recycling is a step forward in conserving those resources to give us a better quality of life for longer, as well as protecting the environment by reducing the amount of rubbish that has to go to landfill sites. I think councils have a really difficult job disposing of waste, and anything we can all do to help can only be a good thing."
Though Claire and Callum are as yet too young to understand the need to recycle, James and Sharon are sure that Binnovation will set a good example in the future. "I think it will make them care about what is going on in the world, and the need to use the resources we have left in a wise and responsible way," said James. "It's high time we all woke up and started thinking about what we can do for the benefit of our children, grandchildren and all the generations to come."