Pendle businesses – did you know that from January, 2015 you will need to separate your recycling from your waste?
The new waste regulations place a responsibility on local councils to collect rubbish and recycling separately from its trade waste customers.
Of Pendle Council’s 700 trade waste customers – local businesses whose rubbish the council collect – around 500 don’t currently recycle their waste.
But Pendle Council is now dedicating more resources to explaining the change in regulations to local businesses.
Mary Townsend, a technical officer in the council’s waste management department, will visit the council’s trade waste customers and assess their recycling needs.
She will encourage them to recycle as much of their waste as they can.
Coun. David Clegg, Executive spokesman for environmental services, said: “Under the changes to Waste Regulations, from 1 January 2015 we must show that we are making every effort to encourage local businesses to reduce, reuse and recycle.
“If we do not, we risk legal action by the Environment Agency and possibly even fined.
“Of course, it’s better for the environment for us all to recycle as much of our waste as possible, as well as preventing and reusing it, and we will be offering advice to Pendle businesses and encouraging them to do their bit.”
Pendle Council’s trade recycling service includes separate collections for paper, envelopes and card, and plastic bottles, cans/tins and glass bottles/jars.
Waste containers are available in a range of sizes and collections can be as frequent as each business needs, suiting everyone from small businesses right up to larger organisations.
Mary Townsend said: “I’m keen to work with businesses in Pendle to help them see the benefits to recycling as much as possible and show them how competitively priced our service is.
“I want to show them how it doesn’t have to be hard work to separate their waste for recycling and encourage them to do more than they are at present.
“Of course, some businesses may have legitimate reasons for not recycling their waste.
“Once the waste regulations are introduced next year, the responsibility will be on the local authority to provide evidence that they meet the requirements of the new legislation.”
If you’re a Pendle business and would like to discuss your recycling requirements, give Mary Townsend a call on 661740 or email mary.townsend@pendle.gov.uk.
