Tennis championships create 35 tonnes of recyclable waste (From Your Local Guardian)

Tennis championships create 35 tonnes of recyclable waste

10:30am Thursday 1st July 2010 in

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More than 35 tonnes of recyclable material is expected be collected during the Wimbledon tennis championships, according to environment officers from Merton Council.

In addition to waste dumped in hundreds of recycling bins strategically placed around the All England Club, hard-working council workers will help collect more than 10 tonnes of drinks bottles, cartons and paper left by the 30,000 tennis fans queuing in Wimbledon Park each day.

To mark the recycling drive, the first in a series of green roadshows was set up next to the queue for the tournament’s first week, to reinforce the importance of looking after the environment.

Coinciding with National Recycling Week, experts were on hand to suggest how tennis fans can lead greener lives, standing next to the stand featuring life-size sculptures of tennis players made from recycled materials.

Leader of Merton Council, Councillor Stephen Alambritis, said: “Taking our message on the road enables us to speak with residents and visitors to the borough one-to-one, encouraging them to become recycling champions.

“Thanks to our residents, Merton avoided sending nearly 31,000 tonnes of waste to landfill last year, our best year ever. At current landfill tax levels, achieving that again this year would save residents £1.5 million.”

The roadshow will be held at locations around Merton for the next fortnight as the council also seeks to encourage residents to recycle more food as part of a rapidly-expanding waste collection scheme.

This week, a further 10,000 homes will receive specially-sealed bins allowing food to be taken away and recycled, taking the overall number of Merton homes included in the scheme to 50,000.

For more information, see merton.gov.uk/foodwaste.