Council takes award in three-way battle (From Barry And District News)

Council takes award in three-way battle

THE VALE Council has scooped a prestigious environment award.

In competition with two other Welsh local authorities, Cardiff and Carmarthenshire County Councils, the Vale Visible Services Department won the "Sustainable Waste Management in the Public Sector" category at the ARENA Network Wales Environment Awards in Cardiff.

Examples of good practice highlighted for the award include:

l Highway maintenance - use of aluminium street columns to reduce waste and ensure a higher value recycled product, and re-use and recycling of waste from excavations.

l Parks and grounds maintenance - composting of the division's green waste at a local farm, and siting of recycling banks at the Court Road Depot, Barry, for paper, cans, plastic and glass.

l Waste management and cleansing - extension of the office waste recycling scheme to cover paper, glass, cans, cardboard and plastic in many locations, and increasing the council recycling rate to 24 percent through the kerbside recycling scheme for glass, paper and cans, improved recycling at the public bring sites and green waste collection service.

l Engineering design and procurement - the division has recognised its influence and potential impact on highways and development projects, and environmental and waste issues are now included within project briefs and documentation.

Head of Visible Services Miles Punter said: "The award recognises the considerable efforts all of my divisions, and work undertaken to improve the way waste and the environment is managed.