Recycling robots get council close to 65% target

Julie Lewis said the council was getting "very, very close" to the government target

An automated recycling centre has helped push a council close to its household recycling target 10 years ahead of schedule.

The government has asked local authorities to recycle 65% of municipal waste by 2035 and Stratford District Council in Warwickshire has already reached 61%.

Its recycling centre, opened in 2023, sorts all recycled waste, so residents do not have to sort it themselves.

Julie Lewis, the head of Environmental and Neighbourhood Services, said the council recognised people had busy lives and added: "If you can make it as simple as possible for them, they're more likely to do it."

She said the council was getting closer and closer to the government's 65% target and some of the credit should go to the residents themselves.

"People want to do the right thing," she said, but often "haven't got time to stop and think" about their recycling.

The new facility, which she said had "absolutely cutting edge technology" has allowed the council to give residents just one recycling bin to think about, because it can be sorted after it has been collected.

The new recycling centre opened in 2023

The new plant is operated by Sherbourne Recycling, a company set up by eight councils to run waste management.

Richard Dobbs, the company's managing director, said: "We're very proud of our robots, they're incredible bits of kit and they do things that human's can't do."

The council has also been collecting 5,000 tonnes of food waste a year, since introducing separate food recycling bins two years ago.