Hamilton Court: New Recycling Facilities

Earlier in the Autumn, I visited Hamilton Court and had the opportunity to speak with the Board of Management.

As local Councillors, one of the things we always try to talk about is recycling - and we put forward a proposal to Hamilton Court to allow recycling facilities to be offered to all 44 flats in the property for the first time. After a few months of discussions between Hamilton Court and the Council's Recycling team we are delighted to report that the new bins have been delivered and are in use. Already, a quarter of Hamilton Court's flats are reported to be using the new service - a brilliant result.

I'm a massive believer in 'action not words' on issues like recycling. Loads of people wax lyrical about the need to do something for our environment but it is the small steps like the ones Hamilton Court have taken that make the difference. Combined this with the increased facilities in Castellain Mansions, Wymering Mansions and Essendine Mansions over the last year or so and Maida Vale is leading the way in increasing recycling throughout Westminster.

Many thanks to the Board of Management and everyone at Hamilton Court for being such great sports.

Lee

Christmas Tree Recycling

Go green when you take the tinsel off!

Westminster Council is again offering residents the opportunity to recycle their Christmas trees, between Wednesday 2nd January and Tuesday 15th January.

Drop-off points in our local area are:

• Grantully Road: at the junction with Ashworth Road, next to the existing recycling bins
• Paddington Rec
• Warwick Avenue: on the pavement in the middle of the road, near the tube station

Alastair

Interested in Recycling?

Westminster's Recycling Team are organising a trip for local residents to inspect the recycling facility we use in Greenwich. If you'd like to know how the Council disposes of its waste for recycling, please do come along!

The trip will likely be in the early Autumn. Please let us know if you'd like more details.

Lee

Going Green in Maida Vale

As local Councillors, we're very keen to promote recycling as much as we can. That's why, when Wymering Road Residents Association approached us about starting a garden waste collection, we were delighted to help. We put them in touch with Council officers and the first collection from Wymering was last Wednesday. We're now talking with Essendine Mansions about doing the same.

Please do contact us if you'd like to discuss possible garden waste collections. It's the little things like these that really do make the difference.

Lee

Full Council Meeting

Last night was another meeting of the full Westminster Council.

During question time, Alastair pressed the Cabinet Member for Street Environment once again on the Thames Water problems in Maida Vale. Cllr Bradley highlighted how had discussed the matter a number of times with Thames management in recent weeks and would continue to do so (including during his upcoming meeting with the new Chief Executive of Thames Water).

Later in the evening, I made a speech on how we intend to re-examine Westminster's recycling strategy in the coming months. I asked all Councillors to get in touch with any residents who would like to get involved and to let us know. Please do get in touch if you have any comments on our current recycling policies (lee@maidavaleconservatives.com) - we want to throw this wide open, so that when we do put the strategy together it draws upon as many ideas as possible.

Lee

A day at the recycling centre

One of the most frequent questions that residents ask is about what happens to Westminster's recycled waste, particularly given that we collected all materials for recycling in the same box/bag. Residents are very eager to see that we are disposing on the waste in the most cost effective and environmentally-friendly manner possible. There is also the occasional sceptic who wonders if we simply nip round the corner with the recycling boxes and stick it in with the rest of the rubbish too!

So, I decided to spend an afternoon at the recycling centre where Westminster sends all of its waste for recycling. The centre is based south of the river, in Thamesmead, and has been used by Westminster since it opened. Recycled waste is collected from doorsteps and the 'big black bins' and stored at a collection point in Brent. Every few days a 20 tonne lorry takes all the waste down at once (to reduce the impact on the environment) to Thamesmead for processing.

The facility, which has only been operating for a couple of years, is actually very impressive. All kinds of machines are employed to separate all the waste that is collected (various magnets to remove the aluminium or steel / a huge tumbler to separate the newspaper from plastic etc.) There is even a machine at the end which separates plastic and glass through the medium of infra-red and high-pressure jets of air. And at the very end, a team of professional (and very quick) monitors check to make sure all of the recycled waste has been separated correctly into paper, plastic, glass and the like. Once separated, recycled waste is then sold, via a number of contracts, for use in other industrial processes, both at home and abroad.

Westminster Council is strongly committed to reducing the impact of our rubbish on the environment, but we face considerable problems, not least our city centre location and that space is precious for most of our residents living in flats. It is through facilities like Thamesmead that we are still able to deliver on our commitments to recycling resident's waste.

Westminster's recycling team are intending to run a number of visits to the Thamesmead facility in the next few months for any residents who are interested. Please do get in touch if you'd like to find out more details. You too could be wearing the same funky luminous overcoat as I am in the picture!

Lee

PS Do you have everything you need to recycle? If you need boxes or bags let us know! There are also large boxes available if residents find the smaller ones aren't sufficient for all the waste. We'd be happy to get one ordered for you.

Christmas Tree Recycling

Looking to dispose of a now forlorn piece of pine?

Westminster Council has set up two temporary recycling points for local residents to leave Christmas trees - the Grantully Road/Ashworth Road junction (next to the existing recycling bins) or within Paddington Rec.

These recycling points are open between 8am and 9pm until next Sunday (14 January).

The Council uses Christmas trees to make wood chippings to spread over local parks and open spaces, including the Rec.

Lee

Lauderdale and Castellain Road Street Surgeries

This weekend we held one of our regular Down Your Street Surgeries in Lauderdale and Castellain Roads.

A fair few people (unusually for a Saturday afternoon!) were in and were happy to chat to us about Maida Vale and what the Council is doing to improve our area. Most people were very happy with Westminster - and a number were particularly glad for the recent resurfacing in Elgin.

We have a number of environmental, recycling and anti-social behaviour to take up on behalf of Castellain and Lauderdale residents. Some rather tiresome individuals seem to be of the opinion that bicycles locked away, off the road, in Castellain Road are somehow public property appropriate for disposal. Very bad form, and we've made the Safer Neighbourhoods Team aware.

If you live in Maida Vale and have an issue or problem we can help you with, please don't hesitate to get in touch at any time.

Lee