From worst to first
Ashford Borough Council has won the title of 'Most Improved Authority' for it's recent re-organisation of recycling. As some of you may have noticed, prior to the new bins system Ashford was the worst in the country at recycling, so there was plenty of room for improvement. You'll appreciate however, that 'Most Improved' isn't the same as 'Best' and there is still room for further improvement!
Ashford Borough Council has won the title of 'Most Improved Authority' for it's recent re-organisation of recycling. As some of you may have noticed, prior to the new bins system Ashford was the worst in the country at recycling, so there was plenty of room for improvement. You'll appreciate however, that 'Most Improved' isn't the same as 'Best' and there is still room for further improvement!
| Despite the initial moans from some, and some early teething difficulties, the new system has been a great success and we should congratulate all those at the Council who worked their socks off to get everyone onto the new system as quickly and smoothly as possible. |  Click on the pic for more details of the recycling system. |
One heck of a job!
The bins roll-out was handled by the same department which deals with allotments - a sensible reason why, for a while, it was sometimes difficult to get small allotment matters sorted with allotments lower on the list than all those ratepayers moaning, asking daft questions and generally getting confused (and that was just our family!). The other reason why things have been tighter is of course, that allotments like everything else have had their budget drastically cut. We were very lucky that as part of the re-organisation of the department, we again got a dedicated Allotment Officer; and I use the word dedicated in both senses!
The bins roll-out was handled by the same department which deals with allotments - a sensible reason why, for a while, it was sometimes difficult to get small allotment matters sorted with allotments lower on the list than all those ratepayers moaning, asking daft questions and generally getting confused (and that was just our family!). The other reason why things have been tighter is of course, that allotments like everything else have had their budget drastically cut. We were very lucky that as part of the re-organisation of the department, we again got a dedicated Allotment Officer; and I use the word dedicated in both senses!
 | Meanwhile, the council couldn't have achieved its targets without householders being prepared to learn the new system and sort their rubbish like good sensible people. I'm sure there's room for improvement there too. |
Above: But the best way to recycle is to compost!
Daft statistics
But what about gardeners who recycle all their non-meat organic waste? Well, idiotically, we make the statistics look worse! Putting all your garden waste out in a brown bin (which of course costs you money to do and the council money to process), looks better on paper than composting it yourself, thereby saving ratepayer's money as well as fossil fuels. Of course, home-composting is the greenest solution of all, but it never appears in the calculations. Congratulations to all those who help the environment by composting, it's just a shame we don't get any formal credit for it.
Daft statistics
But what about gardeners who recycle all their non-meat organic waste? Well, idiotically, we make the statistics look worse! Putting all your garden waste out in a brown bin (which of course costs you money to do and the council money to process), looks better on paper than composting it yourself, thereby saving ratepayer's money as well as fossil fuels. Of course, home-composting is the greenest solution of all, but it never appears in the calculations. Congratulations to all those who help the environment by composting, it's just a shame we don't get any formal credit for it.
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