Innovative recycling scheme for city centre

INNOVATIVE WAYS of helping people dispose of waste will be trialled in Leeds city centre in a bid to boost recycling rates. Hubbub, a charity that has run recycling campaigns in Manchester, London and Edinburgh, has been given the green light by Leeds City Council for a pilot programme. The trial will see new recycling bins installed across the city centre and aims to increase the number of people who are recycling “on the go”. It will be largely focused on disposing of drinks containers and food packages, which often litter the city’s busy central streets. The move has been approved by the council’s director of communities and environment, according to the council’s website. A report prepared by officers on the pilot scheme said: “Hubbub seek to offer innovative ways of helping people to become greener and more environmentally aware, so should be allowed to carry out this trial.” The pilot project will be funded by partner sponsorship generated by the charity. The council is not expected to make any financial contribution towards the recycling trial, the report said. It comes after councillors last month said an “ambitious review” of the city’s waste strategy was under way. As reported by in 2013, the city was then aiming to hit an overall recycling rate of 50 per cent by 2020. But this target had itself been reduced from an original aim of 55 per cent by 2016, and funding cuts have been blamed for the ongoing setbacks. The city centre recycling trial will include testing social media, apps, pop-up displays, posters, games and public stunts like flash mobs.

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