The Issue with Waste in Kingston

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• The Issue with Waste in Kingston

Each year residents in Kingston produce more than 80,000 tonnes of rubbish -- over half a tonne a person -- the weight of a small car. This puts Kingston amongst the highest producers of rubbish in the UK. We all play a part in creating this mountain of rubbish and must take responsibility for tackling the problem. We need to reduce, reuse, and recycle more of our rubbish.

Waste Performance
Kingston has been a high achieving borough with regard to recycling and composting, however performance has slowed over the last few years. The table below compares Kingston's waste management efforts against neighbouring and leading boroughs.

Waste Performance
Comparison Table (2005/06)

Borough	%*
Lichfield District	46
Sutton	28
Merton	21
Kingston	19
Croydon	11

* % of waste composted or recycled.

There needs to be significant changes in Kingston to achieve its recycling and composting targets set by the Government. The Council has adopted a Waste Strategy to help achieve our waste targets.

To keep costs to a minimum Kingston residents need to:

• compost bio-degradable waste (e.g. kitchen scraps, green waste) at home where possible
  
  
• reduce the amount of waste we produce and send to landfill
  
  
• re-use more waste materials (i.e. plastic containers, jars and shopping bags)
  
  
• recycle more waste materials at home such as paper, bottles, cans, tins, and textiles.