The council is gearing up to celebrate a key service milestone that helps residents reduce, reuse and recycle from the comfort of their homes.
Published: Monday, 24th July 2023
Twenty years ago, on 18 August 2003, Cherwell District Council’s environmental services team launched its kerbside recycling scheme. For the first time, it provided residents with the convenience of recycling plastic, paper, cardboard, cans and aerosols from home.
Since 2003 Cherwell district has seen its recycling rates improving, increasing from 18.9 per cent in July 2003 to 54.7 per cent in July 2023.
Not only has the district seen over 275,000 tonnes of refuse saved from landfill, but residents’ commitment to environmental sustainability has gone from strength to strength.
Councillor Andrew McHugh, Portfolio Holder for Cleaner and Greener Communities, said: “Cherwell District Council is very excited to celebrate 20 years of providing residents with an easy and reliable way to do their bit for the environment by simply placing eligible recyclable items into their blue bins.
“Introducing kerbside recycling began our environmental sustainability crusade here at Cherwell. We have since expanded our services to include food, garden waste, batteries, small electrical item collections and recently, coffee pod recycling too.
“Being able to encourage and support reduction, reuse and recycling across the district is a key priority for the council, and we are very proud of our track record of creative and innovative approaches to helping to educate and inform residents about the best ways to dispose of their waste to best impact their environmental footprint.
“From in-person events to our online Waste Wizard that helps you to find ways of repairing, reusing or recycling household items, there are plenty of ways our services have evolved to ensure that residents are always best supported in relation to their needs.”
The council’s innovative Waste Wizard search tool, created in collaboration with Oxfordshire County Council, can be found at cherwell.gov.uk/WasteWizard and used to find the most sustainable and friendly way to dispose of household waste.
As part of the 20 years of recycling celebrations, friendly experts from the environmental services team will host three market stalls in August. Residents are invited to speak with them about the history, available services and future initiatives.
The stalls will be held at the locations on the following dates:
Banbury Market, Thursday 10 August
Bicester Friday Market, Friday 18 August
Kidlington Market, Friday 25 August