Bracknell

Residents who take part in Bracknell Council’s garden waste recycling scheme will be able to collect a free bag of compost if they attend a composting roadshow.

People who own or buy a brown wheelie bin, or 10 biodegradable brown sacks, will be entitled to the compost - taken from the Bracknell Council’s composting facility. The brown sacks will be for sale at the special offer price of five for £1.

The roadshows are taking place at:

- Sandhurst Town Council, Yorktown Road, on Friday, February 23, from 11am until 2pm.

- Binfield Parish Council, Benetfeld Road, on Wednesday, February 28, from 11am until 2pm.

- Bracknell Leisure Centre, Bagshot Road, on Friday, March 2, from 11am until 2pm.

- Larks Hill car park, Harvest Ride, Quelm Park, on Wednesday, March 7, from 11am until 2pm.

Residents who already have a brown wheelie bin will need to bring along its unique serial number, which will be verified against the delivery name and address.

The roadshow will also include information on home composting, and how to order discounted composters for the garden.

Bracknell Council is working hard to dramatically reduce the amount of waste being sent to the landfill sites, where it pollutes and contributes directly to climate change. Also, the sites in Berkshire are almost full, and sending less waste to landfill helps to avoids new Government fines and charges which could cost more than £7.7million over the next five years. A survey in 2002 showed that a third of landfill refuse in green bins during the summer was garden waste.

There will also be information on Bracknell Council's garden waste collection service. Residents can buy a brown wheelie bin for a one-off charge of £30 or biodegradable brown sacks from local shops for 30p each. Most councils charge for garden waste containers and some also have annual collection charges.

The charges also contribute to the collection costs of the garden waste which takes place on the same day as the recycling collection. In 2005/6 1,031 tonnes of garden waste was diverted from landfill and so far in this financial year 1,861 tonnes have been collected from the kerbside collection scheme and turned into useful compost.

Cllr Peter North, Executive Member for Bracknell Public Protection and Services, said: "Having a compost bin is a great way of turning your decomposable waste into something which you can use to improve your garden.

"I would like to thank every resident in Bracknell Forest who takes the effort to reduce the amount of waste we send to landfill sites."

Bracknell Forest Borough Council