Local residents can at last recycle plastic items such as yoghurt pots and margarine tubs, thanks to the new recycling facility across the river in Wandsworth.

Up till now a lot of plastic had to be thrown away, but now the council is encouraging people to add these items plus plastic food trays into their Orange recycling sacks o rsmart bank.

All of these items can be processed by Western Riverside Waste Authority's new £25million Materials Recycling Facility which was opened by Princess Anne at Smugglers Way, Wandsworth, in March.

This machine is able to process 84,000 ton per annum and is the central recycling point for H&F, Kensington and Chelsea, Lambeth and Wandsworth.

H&F Council says recycling has never been so important now that the cost of disposing of rubbish has risen by 20%. It currently costs £128 to dispose of a ton of waste while the cost of recycling a ton is just £71.

The council also says that rom this summer, all flat dwellers with access to Smart Recycling Banks will be give a new re-usable bag to make it even easier to store recycling in your home and transport it to the recycling bank.

The council will also be  converting some refuse chutes so that they can be used for recycling and installing recycling banks on each floor in selected locations.

May 6, 2011