You Should Have Bin There ... Milton Keynes Council Goes for More Recycling

9.04.45pm BST (GMT +0100) Thu 28th Oct 2004

Local residents were feeling a compulsion to compost this month, as the biggest ever local giveaway of composting bins hit the National Bowl.

Free compost bins were being handed out at a rate of 1,000 per hour with a total of just under 5,000 of the 226 litre bins shifted in total. The bins usually retail for £29.99 so this really was a purse-friendly, as well as an environmentally friendly, offer.

"It was amazing," said Douglas McCall, the Liberal Democrat Cabinet Member with responsibility for the environment. "It's great to think that thousands of people will now be able to start home composting - with all the benefits that brings for the environment."

Milton Keynes Council joined forces with WRAP (the Waste and Resources Action Programme) for this environmental extravaganza which encouraged the people of Milton Keynes to become 'rotters' and join the leagues of keen composters across the nation.

As well as the green composting bins, visitors to the Bowl were able to get their hands on other home composting equipment, including special gadgets to turn the compost, and kitchen caddies to collect compostable kitchen waste.

"Composting - along with recycling - has the power to cut the amount of rubbish we send to landfill by a massive 60%," said Councillor McCall. "It's in everybody's interest to recycle the things we use and home composting is a brilliant idea. We're thrilled that through the generosity of WRAP we were able to help people get started for free. Milton Keynes' Liberal Democrat Council is committed to being among the best in the country for recycling waste."