Zero Waste Places Peterborough...

Earlier on in the year Nick Goodman, Environment Capital Officer from GPP, blogged about Peterborough's Zero Waste Places Project.

The project (or this phase of it) is coming to an end now after achieving masses of sucess in the shape of thousands of tonnes of waste prevented from ending up in landfill. What's more the project hasn't just stopped the stuff from being landfilled through recycling, it's stopped it being created in the first place!

The project has had three key strands:

1) Visiting all city centre retailers and talking to them about their rubbish and recycling habits. This has revealed what the key barriers to producing less waste, and recycling more are so we can do somthing about them. With help from waste contractor Donarbon, packs of information adressing the issues retailers face have been developed and distributed.

2) Working with Opportunity Peterborough and construction firm Osbornes to reduce the amount of waste being produced during the city centre development. Osbornes has not only ordered suppliers to deliver materials without packaging, but have also negotiated with structural engineers to reduce the depth of pits being dug. (The deeper the hole the more waste you are left with).

3) Identifying opportunities for reuse as part of the redevelopment and construction work in Peterborough. This has included a report detailing everything that can be reused from the Corn Exchange building in Cowgate which is set to be demolished. From urinals to door handles!

Peterbrough was selected as one of six areas in the UK to become a Zero Waste Place and trial innovative methods of reduce, reuse and recycle. The initiatve has been funded by Defra and the project in Peterborough has been managed by Peterborough Environment City Trust, the environmental charity working to create the UK's Environment Capital in the city.

Defra has been so impressed by Peterborough's progress that the Minister for Waste will be in the city to see first-hand what we've done on 28th April.

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