The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
A rewards scheme which boosted recycling rates from households across South Holland has ended.
The district council’s Green Bag Lottery began in February last year and during its first six months, the amount of waste recycled rose by 16 per cent to 678 tonnes.
Dozens of people won £100 for good recycling habits and a handful then won an extra £1,000 in three-monthly draws for winners.
The scheme’s grant funding by the government’s Department for Communities and Local Government has now been exhausted and the final £1,000 draw will be made on Monday.
Coun Roger Gambba-Jones, the council’s portfolio holder for waste management, hopes to see momentum for better recycling maintained.
He said: “As well increasing the overall amount of waste recycled, the Green Bag Lottery demonstrated our taxpayers wish to recycle and reduce the amount of waste in their black bags.
“The change to a countywide recycling contract, managed by Lincolnshire County Council, combined with new legislation, means that contamination of our recycled waste stream is coming under much greater scrutiny.
“Using the results of the Green Bag Lottery, we will see if further incentives are appropriate, or if there are other ways to reduce contamination and thereby increase the amount of household waste that is recycled.”
A council spokesman said: “We will be reviewing our options for future recycling initiatives and are keen to work with Lincolnshire County Council who will be managing the countywide recycled materials contract.”
