THIS week's green spotlight focuses on glass recycling as the borough struggles to keep efforts at a maximum.
In the latest phase of The Gazette's Basingstoke - A Place To Be Proud Of campaign, last week we urged readers to help get the borough's recycling programme back on track.
In 2003/04 nearly 1,750 tonnes of glass was collected and recycled from sites across Basingstoke and Deane - about 145 tonnes a month.
Since April last year the pace of recycling has picked up by about three tonnes a month, but Basingstoke still faces an uphill struggle to hit the Government's target of recycling 40 per cent of household waste by 2006. This is where you can help.
By dropping off empty bottles at a council-sponsored collection point you can help to make a real difference by increasing the amount of household waste recycled.
When glass is collected from the bottle banks it is taken to the Chineham incinerator before being moved to a state-of-the-art sorting and reprocessing facility at Southampton docks, where it is sorted to remove contaminants and separated by colour.
The glass is then broken down into small pieces known as cullet before being fed into a furnace, which melts it and blows it into new forms. It is particularly important to recycle glass because it can be reshaped an infinite number of times.
With more than 50 sites where you can dispose of glass it is one of the most easily recycled materials.
Major drop points include the Chineham Shopping Centre, the Bell Street Car Park in Whitchurch and the Camrose Ground, South Ham, Basingstoke.
The Gazette wants to hear from individuals and organisations who are passionate about recycling. Are you setting an example for others to follow?
Contact Alex Kalinik and tell him all about it on 01256 337421 or e-mail newsdesk@basingstokegazette.co.uk
And if you have a view on recycling issues we want to hear it. Write to The Letters Editor, Gazette Newspapers, Gazette House, Pelton Road, Basingstoke, RG21 6YD or e-mail editor@basingstokegazette.co.uk
First published: Friday, February 18, 2005
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