Kerbside collection - for some

Selected streets in Bexhill have already been supplied with kerbside boxes in which papers including newspapers, magazine, junk mail and white telephone directories can be disposed.

Households just have to fill them up and put them out for collection fortnightly with their rubbish, reducing waste and increasing recycling in the district.

Contract Services Officer Alan Dodge launched the kerbside scheme on Tuesday along with colleague Shaun Morley and refuse collectors John Cosson and Bill Langley.

Alan said: "It's an important step for the council.

"We have already been looking at options to increase recycling rates for some time.

"This marks the first phase of newspaper collection."

3000 tonnes of recyclable material was recycled last year in Rother and 'bring' sites - the recycling bins situated across Bexhill, including Little Common car park, Sidley car park and Ravenside retail park.

The roads selected for the first phase are listed below (*) and have been chosen to work in line with household waste collection, with a new lorry for the service. Those who have not yet received a box will do so in the next two weeks.

"It is designed so collections take place at the same place and same time as dustbins being collected so people have got less to remember." said Alan.

This combats the idea that recycling takes a lot of time to organise.

The only difference to collection of waste is that kerbside boxes will be collected fortnightly, not weekly.

Bank holiday arrangements will work on the same lines as waste collection.

With a budget of 150,000 for this initial year, which includes promotion costs for leaflets to enable people to know what they can get from this new service, Rother hope to expand the service by Christmas or early next year.

Shaun Morley said: "Initially there will be collections from 10,000 properties but this will be expanded across the district.

"The next step will be to cover the remainder of Bexhill and then move on to the smaller villages."

Councillor Matthew Wilson, lead cabinet member responsible for the key council priority of improving recycling, said: "It is good to see this scheme, that has been planned for some time now, coming to fruition. The council is very keen to ensure it supports residents in their wish to see more recycling taking place.

"This scheme will assist greatly in enabling the council to move closer to meeting the targets set by central government for improving recycling and therefore reducing the amount of waste going to landfill."