VERDANT TO LAUNCH GREEN WASTE CLUB
FOR EAST NORTHAMPTONSHIRE COUNCIL

Sevenoaks, Kent, 08 March 2007

Independent municipal services contractor Verdant Group plc today announced that it is implementing a green waste recycling scheme for East Northamptonshire Council, the fourth such Verdant scheme for local authorities.

Based on Verdant’s successful Green Waste Club model, in use with Arun, Surrey Heath and South Oxfordshire councils, the East Northamtonshire scheme starts on 2nd April. It will be available to some 30,000 properties in the council area, and resident registration to join the Club started in February. Verdant is starting deliveries of a 240 litre wheelie bin per registered household.

Kerbside collection of green waste, such as grass and hedge clippings, prunings, plants, flowers and weeds, leaf litter and small twigs, will take place once a fortnight, with green recyclables taken to a local recycling facility for composting.

Joining the East Northants Green Waste Club costs a household £35 + VAT for a 12 month service, equivalent to around 85 pence per week, with a £10 + VAT fee for bin delivery. However, East Northants Council is offering an ‘early bird’ scheme under which it will pay the bin delivery cost for the first 1,000 households to register.

Nearly 7,500 members of the Green Waste Club in Arun have recycled close to 4,500 tonnes of green waste in around two years, while newer schemes in Surrey Heath and South Oxfordshire have recycled around 1,700 tonnes to date.

Mike Deacon, Head of Environmental Services at East Northamptonshire Council, says the new Green Waste Club is an important initiative.  “Over the average spring and summer, hundreds of tonnes of green waste are created by our keen gardeners. In the past, much of this has been sent to landfill, which is both a waste of valuable resources and unnecessary,” he explained.

“All local authorities now have to meet tough Government targets for reducing waste and improving recycling.  By diverting green waste from landfill, East Northamptonshire will be able to meet and even exceed its target of 30% for the coming year and so avoid financial penalties.”

Verdant managing director Simon Miles commented that once gardeners understand the simplicity of the Green Waste Club scheme, they find it easy to work with and make an important contribution. “The near-20,000 members of our three Green Waste Clubs we run have recycled over 6,000 tonnes so far, which is impressive. I’m sure East Northants residents will support this new scheme wholeheartedly, and working in partnership with Verdant and the council, show just what they can achieve.”