Hillingdon Council is calling on residents to share their recycling habits through an online survey, aiming to launch a campaign to reduce contamination levels in the borough’s recycling efforts.
The survey’s primary goal is to identify and address barriers that prevent households from recycling effectively. These barriers may include time constraints of busy family lives, language difficulties, or simply a lack of knowledge about recyclable items.
Contamination occurs when non-recyclable items are placed in recycling sacks, or when recyclable items are thrown away as general waste. The council’s target is to halve the borough’s contamination rate by the end of 2025.
Residents are asked about their sources of recycling information and the factors influencing their recycling decisions. This data will help the council tailor their campaign to better support the community in recycling correctly.
Common contaminants in Hillingdon include food waste, clothing, and hygiene products. The council provides free weekly collections for mixed dry recycling, food, and garden waste, along with free textiles collections in partnership with Traid. For larger items, there is a low-cost bulky waste collection service and two civic amenity sites available for residents.
Cllr Eddie Lavery, Hillingdon Council’s Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services said: “We’re committed to being a green and sustainable borough, so recycling as much as possible and reducing the overall waste we produce will be a key focus of this.
“We know most residents play their part and recycle what they can, but putting non-recyclable items into your recycling bags contaminates the load which can incur a cost for disposal. So, recycling better is actually more cost effective for everyone.
“It’s imperative residents can easily access the information they need about what can and can’t be recycled in Hillingdon, so please take a few minutes to fill out our survey to help us see what changes we can make to help residents improve their recycling.”
To participate in the recycling survey by visit www.hillingdon.gov.uk/recycling-survey.
