Rochford District Council’s Recycling team gained national recognition after winning a National Recycling Award, at a ceremony held in London on 27 October.

The Council won in the Local Authority Target Success category at the awards, which recognise the highest achieving local authorities across the country.

Rochford District Council’s Portfolio Holder for the Environment, Councillor Michael Starke said “It was fantastic to win such a prestigious award and to gain recognition at a national level. It is testament not only to all the hard work that council officers have put in but also the way in which residents have played their part in making the scheme such a success. We would like to thank all our residents for their efforts as this award is as much for them as it is for us. It is a proud moment for the District”.

The awards aim to reward councils and boroughs which have achieved high levels of waste reduction and that have excelled with their recycling and waste minimisation targets. The period was judged from April 2008 to March 2009 and evaluated best practice across the whole of the UK waste industry, county councils, and private industry.

Rochford District Council’s Head of Environmental Services Richard Evans added: “The Council launched its new Maximise Recycling Scheme on 21 July 2008 after consulting with residents who have responded fantastically. The new scheme saw the expansion in the range of materials that could be collected from the kerbside, increasing the Councils recycling rates from below 20 per cent to nearly 70 per cent.”

The award is just one part of the Councils continuing efforts to make the Rochford District one of the greenest parts of the country in which to live. Last week the Council officially launched its Climate CO2de along with the signing of the Nottingham Declaration by the Leader of Rochford District Council, Councillor Terry Cutmore and the Chief Executive of Rochford District Council Mr Paul Warren.

The Climate CO2de is the Council’s action plan addressing the ways in which the Council will take measures to help mitigate the effects of climate change, both with its own operations and action in the wider community.

By signing the Nottingham Declaration councils and their partners pledge to systematically address the causes of climate change and to prepare their community for its impacts.

The Leader of Rochford District Council, Councillor Terry Cutmore said: “Winning at the National Recycling Awards is a perfect example of the hard work Rochford District Council is putting in with residents to make us one of the greenest local authorities in the country. It is vital that every local authority works with their residents to act quickly on environmental issues and we have set out a strategy that we hope will put the District at the forefront of these efforts.”