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Householders save 3 million bottles from landfill
December 6th 2007
HOUSEHOLDERS in Leicestershire are preventing around three million bottles being disposed of each year by opting for a milk delivery service in glass bottles instead of just buying in plastic bottles, new statistics have revealed.
In the light of new 'pay as you throw' proposals being considered for local government, this could potentially save those householders up to £270,000 a year in future refuse charges - equivalent to around £9 per household. It will also help local councils to reduce costly landfill tonnage charges, which would be offset against council taxes.
Research figures revealed by milk delivery service Kirby and West show that around 30,000 households in Leicestershire are currently receiving an average of 6 pints of milk per week in glass bottles through its delivery service. They are only disposing of around 15 glass bottles a year, as each bottle is reused on average 20 times. By contrast, those who buy the equivalent amount in 2-litre plastic bottles are going through 104 per household, and the figure is substantially higher for those buying smaller amounts in plastic bottles from supermarkets. Whilst schemes are under way to try to encourage plastic bottle recycling, national research shows that only 5.5% of these are actually being recycled and, rather than being re-used in their current form, they must first undergo crushing, melting down and reforming processes.
"Amongst proposals being put to the Government to cut Britain's landfill are £1-a-sack charges for householders and £150-per-tonne charges for councils. The National Audit Office has said this could lead to fines of up to £200 million nationally," said Graham Smith, Director, Kirby and West. "Leicestershire is one of the better performing areas in terms of landfill generation, but there is obviously more that can be done.
"Measures are currently being looked at on how to recycle plastic milk bottles and we hope this is something we will also be able to offer our customers in the future, but for the moment those using glass bottles are obviously making a huge saving in terms of landfill
