A new green initiative that aims to improve current recycling rates in Ealing has been approved by Ealing Council. 

The scheme – approved by the council’s Cabinet on Tuesday 14th September – will reward the most enthusiastic communities with a total sum of £80,000 recycling rewards, with residents from each of the borough’s 23 electoral wards attempting to secure the prize for the benefit of their local region. The area with the highest level of household recycling will be rewarded with £20,000, as will the three wards that demonstrate a notable increase in their recycling rates.

By incentivising individuals to increase their commitment to recycling and to become involved in community projects, the council hopes to reduce its costs by decreasing the amount of waste sent to landfill. Cabinet member for Transport and Environment, Councillor Bassam Mahfouz, believes that this proposal will engage people in a way that is fundamental to the campaign to promote recycling. He said: “The key to increasing recycling figures over the coming years will be to encourage more people to take up recycling. We want our communities to work with us to help reduce these costs, so it’s only right to reward our residents for helping us to do this.”

Recycling participation surveys will be carried out by the council until next spring in order to determine which areas have shown the most significant increase in household recycling, using procedures endorsed by WRAP

The council will avoid using the weight of recycling as a form of measurement, as experts caution that this could result in residents unnecessarily disposing of items that could in fact be re-used, and the council is adamant in its opposition to putting electronic chips in bins.

Another ‘green’ initiative has been proposed by the council – the creation of a £100,000 parks and open spaces improvement fund – £20,000 of which will be accessible to wards that bid for extra funding to put towards improving local green spaces.

The council hopes to benefit the whole community by moving towards a more cost-effective system, whilst simultaneously increasing the percentage of waste recycled.