THURROCK Council has declared its new recycling service has got off to a flying start.

The authority recently introduced a new free doorstep collection service which helps residents recycle clothes, small electrical items, toys, books and other bric-a-brac.

And it has been acclaimed an instant success with more than 11 tonnes of waste reused and recycled already.

Thurrock Council has partnered with Anglo Recycling to launch the new service three weeks ago and immediately shot to the top of their league table, with Thurrock having the most doorstep collections in the country.

In total by the end of March there had been 275 doorstep collections in the borough with nearly four tonnes of clothing, nearly three tonnes of bric-a-brac, nearly two-and-a-half tonnes of old books and over one tonne each of electrical items and CDs and DVDs. In total they collected 11.38 tonnes of recycling.

Cllr Victoria Holloway, Cabinet member for Place and the Environment, said: "It has been tremendous to see so many people take advantage of this fantastic new service.

"In the first few weeks together we have helped divert over 11 tonnes of waste away from incineration and given it a new lease of life by sending it to be reused or recycled.

"This is not only good for the planet, it also helps free up money that would otherwise have been spent sending waste to be incinerated, which is ploughed back into council waste and recycling services, it costs us £140 for every tonne of waste that is not recycled.

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"This is an excellent new service, and I am delighted to see so many people take advantage of this free, easy and convenient way to recycle all sorts of items."

Items recycled through the scheme go on to find new homes where they are needed most, 95% of items donated are reused, with only 5% going to be recycled.

The doorstep recycling scheme makes recycling bric-a-brac easier than ever; all residents need to do is simply pack clothes, small electrical items, toys, books CDs, DVDs and other bric-a-brac into medium sized boxes, book a collection through the website and Anglo will take care of the rest.

To find out more, and book a collection visit: thurrock.gov.uk/doorstepcollections