Waste Watch

Versatile Recycling Support Officers deliver results

10 June 2008

Ealing Council introduced a revised waste and recycling service in Southall in November 2007 to reduce the amount of overall waste, increase recycling and tackle overflowing bins by not picking up additional waste left out on the street.

To enable a smooth transition, Ealing Council wanted to give residents a helping hand during the initial phase and so enlisted the help of Waste Watch's Recycling Support Officers.

As Tim Burns from Waste Watch explains: "Having informed, enthusiastic and helpful staff on the ground, showing the benefits and practicalities of recycling to residents, answering their questions and solving problems there and then, can make all the difference in making a recycling service a success."

In Southall, over 83% of the population belong to ethnic groups other than white British, so it was vital to be able to overcome potential language barriers. Our three officers spoke six languages between them including Gujarati, Hindi, Bengali, Punjabi and Urdu.

Our officers visited over 5,500 households and attended schools and community group meetings. They also monitored the collection crew's performance and dealt with enquiries for additional black wheeled refuse bins. After a personal appointment with a Recycling Support Officer, 87 out of the 165 households who had originally requested extra bins for their waste cancelled their request having been persuaded to reduce their residual waste and recycle more.

Stuart Pohler, Section Manager for Recycling & Waste Minimisation in Ealing, was delighted with the results. "We have benefited so much from the dedication and enthusiasm of our Recycling Support Officers. Not only has their on-the-ground presence made our lives easier but our residents were given crucial support and encouragement to recycle more."

Recycling Support Officers are a flexible and cost-efficient way to reach targeted groups of people and Waste Watch has a readily available pool of versatile and experienced staff to help you roll out new services or service changes.

To find out more about this or similar projects contact Tim Burns on 020 7549 0302.