On a cold Friday morning in Hastings, the last thing most shoppers expected to come across was a 15ft high mountain of black bin bags.
But the spectacle was not just a publicity stunt; it marked the launch of a new bid to drive up recycling rates in Hastings.
Above: Launching the Council's recycling scheme
The launch had its desired effect, many passers-by stopped to chat with waste and recycling officers and with a research team from the University of Brighton, working with the Council on this project.
It also attracted the attention of a local news team from Meridian TV, which featured the event on its Sunday evening news bulletin.
The recycling vision is ambitious. At present just 2,000 tonnes of paper from Hastings and St Leonards are recycled each year. The Council is determined to more than double this figure to 5,500 tonnes and reduce rubbish going to landfill sites by some 18 per cent.
At present many households have blackbox doorstep recycling and this is set to continue - but with an improvement. Colour-coded sacks will also be sent out to help sort out cans, plastic bottles and cardboard as well as paper. There should be very little left in the bin.
Doorstep recycling is being extended to other areas of the town as well. The main difference is that they will only be given sacks, which are easier to store than boxes in small buildings.
The aim is to gather 500 tonnes of cans, 250 tonnes of plastic bottles and 500 tonnes of cardboard every year.
Extra rounds, sacks and the organisation of it all costs money, and this new initiative has been made possible thanks to £600,000 worth of funding from the Government.
This money not only means more collections, it has also paid for the installation of sorting equipment at a local site. Very few councils have their own sorting facilities and Hastings is lucky to get one.
To explain all about the changes, the Council is working closely with the University of Brighton, whose waste research team has been busy knocking on doors delivering information and answering questions.
Councillor Godfrey Daniel, portfolio holder for the environment, said:
"We are looking at ways to make our town a cleaner, greener and safer place to live. This boost in recycling will address two of these aims and boost our recycling figures to a much more acceptable level."
Anyone who would like more information should contact the Waste and Recycling team on 01424 781393.
The Council is also working with Global Action Plan, an environmental awareness charity, to set up Eco-community groups. If you would like to be involved in local groups to improve the environment, why not contact Martha Rose on 01424 781481.
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This page last updated: 04/04/2005