What you need to know about East Devon District Council's new waste and recycling service in the Honiton area.

EAST Devon District Council's plan to roll out phase three of its new waste and recycling improvements in the Honiton area has prompted a string of complaints.

As featured on the front page of last week's Midweek Herald, residents are unhappy with everything from how new wheelie bins were delivered to lack of facilities for the collection of cardboard.

Changes will not be implemented to collections until Wednesday, March 24, so the Herald asked the council to explain why the change is necessary and how it will work.

The council's overriding message to Honiton and district residents is: "Stand by for an improved waste and recycling service, and the chance to do your bit for the planet."

More than 10,700 households will be affected when the service, which is already running in the Axe Valley, is extended.

A council spokesman said: "The new service is set to further improve East Devon's contribution to saving the planet.

"In the Axe Valley, where the system was introduced in August last year, it is working smoothly and has raised the recycling rate to over 50 per cent; in Sidmouth and Ottery, the result is much the same.

"Leaflets, introducing the new service in detail, have been distributed to Phase 3 households and containers for food waste and landfill waste have been delivered to most homes. In some streets, issues around the size and positioning of wheeled bins have been worked out through negotiation with householders."

Eight-page instruction leaflets, giving full details of the new service and what each householder needs to do, will be distributed in the Honiton area at the end of February.

All households should already have a green box for recycling and residents should carry on using these in the same way as before - with two important changes:

l Recycling will now be collected weekly.

l You can now recycle plastic bottles in addition to the items you put out before.

EAST Devon District Council's plan to roll out phase three of its new waste and recycling improvements in the Honiton area has prompted a string of complaints.

As featured on the front page of last week's Midweek Herald, residents are unhappy with everything from how new wheelie bins were delivered to lack of facilities for the collection of cardboard.

Changes will not be implemented to collections until Wednesday, March 24, so the Herald asked the council to explain why the change is necessary and how it will work.

The council's overriding message to Honiton and district residents is: "Stand by for an improved waste and recycling service, and the chance to do your bit for the planet."

More than 10,700 households will be affected when the service, which is already running in the Axe Valley, is extended.

A council spokesman said: "The new service is set to further improve East Devon's contribution to saving the planet.

"In the Axe Valley, where the system was introduced in August last year, it is working smoothly and has raised the recycling rate to over 50 per cent; in Sidmouth and Ottery, the result is much the same.

"Leaflets, introducing the new service in detail, have been distributed to Phase 3 households and containers for food waste and landfill waste have been delivered to most homes. In some streets, issues around the size and positioning of wheeled bins have been worked out through negotiation with householders."

Eight-page instruction leaflets, giving full details of the new service and what each householder needs to do, will be distributed in the Honiton area at the end of February.

All households should already have a green box for recycling and residents should carry on using these in the same way as before - with two important changes:

Recycling will now be collected weekly.

You can now recycle plastic bottles in addition to the items you put out before.

Each household should by now have received a delivery of three new waste containers:

A small food waste caddy for the kitchen.

A larger food waste container to put out by the kerbside.

A wheeled bin for other waste to go to landfill - again to be put out by the kerbside.

Some residents are being provided with gull-proof sacks as an alternative to wheeled bins.

EAST Devon District Council's new waste and recycling service includes the collection of new materials, especially food waste.

That waste ends up at the Holsworthy Bio Gas Plant, in North Devon - an anaerobic digestion facility.

Since the scheme was rolled out to other areas last year, the council's contractors, SITA, have been collecting on average 23 tonnes of food waste per week.

This waste is taken to a depot in Woodbury, where it is contained and stored until it is transported on to Holsworthy Bio Gas Plant. Transfers take place on a weekly basis.

Holsworthy has the capacity to process 146,000 tonnes of cattle, pig and poultry manure, including organic food waste.

The slurry is collected from 30 local farmers within a five to six mile radius of the plant.

The slurry and food waste are mixed together and are then heat treated, at temperatures reaching up to 70 degrees Celsius.

This process is repeated several times.

The methane gases produced are captured and, using the latest technology, are converted into electricity, which is fed back into the National Grid.

East Devon District Council cannot cut waste without your support.

Councillor David Cox (pictured), the authority's portfolio holder for the waste and recycling service, said: "This is quite a major change for residents and for the collection crews, so we may experience a few teething problems in the first week or so.

"I would ask everyone to follow the guidance in the leaflets and, most importantly, to have their containers out at the kerbside by 7am on Wednesday mornings.

"The rounds are split so that some places will have their fortnightly landfill waste collections on March 24, while others will start on March 31."

Councillor Cox added: "We all need to do as much as we can for the environment. It's vital that we reduce landfill and increase the number and volume of the materials that we recycle.

"Councils play a large part in this by collecting and processing the waste, but we can't do anything without the help and co-operation of our residents."

EAST Devon District Council's website contains full details of the changes.

There is also a telephone helpline, (01395) 571515, and members of the council's StreetScene team will be available to speak to or visit residents who have any concerns about the new system, or perhaps have special needs.

Visits have already been carried out in Honiton, where problems on some developments have been resolved.