Dorset Waste Partnership: Collecting Pots, Tubs and Trays (PTTs) as Part of a New Kerbside Service

Overview

Following a review of its waste strategy in 2008/09, DWP set out on an ambitious path to harmonise recycling and waste collection arrangements across the two tiers of the county, as part of the objective to ‘achieve 60% recycling and composting across Dorset by 2015/16’.

Consultation on the waste strategy and the new recycling target yielded comments suggesting many residents would recycle more if there were better opportunities to recycle plastics.

This was a key driver for including PTTs in the new recycling scheme.

Conclusions

By including plastic bottles and PTTs in the new ‘Recycle for Dorset’ scheme, we have listened and responded to our residents. The scheme enables them to reduce their residual waste and recycle much more.

Communications are the key to success and we have worked hard to make our communications and literature concise and easy to understand.

Our simple message is ‘Recycle all plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays’. The results speak for themselves - our recycling rate has doubled in some areas, increasing to more than 60%. From recent surveys, 89% of residents said they were satisfied with the scheme, 75% said it is an improvement and 85% said that they are recycling more.

Bill Davidson, Head of Strategy, Dorset Waste Partnership.