Great Waste Debate: Background information
More information on the issues behind the Great Waste Debate
1. Mansfield District Council provides refuse and recycling collections to approximately 47,000 homes.
2. Refuse and recycling items are collected from residents in three wheelie bins:
- The Green Bin, for general household waste, collected fortnightly from 100% of homes in the district.
- The Blue Bin for dry recyclable items such as plastic bottles, paper, card and cans collected fortnightly from 98% of homes in the district.
- The Brown Bin for garden waste such as grass cuttings, hedge trimmings and leaves collected fortnightly from 74% of homes in the district (service operates March to November).
3. In 2006/07, 27% of the Mansfield district's waste was either recycled or composted with the other 34,728.84 tonnes tipped at landfill sites.
4. Mansfield District Council began doorstep recycling collections in 2002 when its recycling rate was less than 3%.
5. Mansfield District Council has a target to recycle 40% of its waste by 2010.
6. The cost of introducing a weekly general household waste (green bin) collection in the Mansfield district was estimated at around £1million for an all-year round service and £300,000 for a 12-week summer collection.