Refusing To Be Beaten

摘要

Carrying out annual surveys among managers responsible for local authority refuse services allows APSE (the Association for Public Service Excellence) to gauge the "state of the market" and identify trends. Our most recent survey, which received 113 responses, reveals some positive news in the shape of an upward trend in recycling and a strong emphasis on efficiency savings. It also forecasts that testing times will continue, however, as budgets continue to decline. The positive results of the survey are that local authorities and householders seem to be increasingly regarding recycling as the norm, as backed by Defra statistics. All councils that took part in the poll are now recycling paper; 99 percent are recycling cans; 97 percent card, glass and plastics; and 91 percent green waste. A total of 70 percent are recycling textiles; 63 percent batteries; and 57 percent food waste, with 34 percent recycling bulbs. The emphasis on recycling is accompanied by alternate weekly collection of residual waste in 79 percent of councils.