Cleaner Greener

West Berkshire Council has a Cleaner Greener programme. It aims to improve West Berkshire as a whole, tackling issues such as; Graffiti, litter, unwanted vehicles and improving the street scene.

Greener Planning
In future all new buildings will have to be built in a way that minimises their impact on the environment. New Planning policies will in effect require on site generation of electricity, very high standards of energy efficiency and thermal insulation, collection and re-use of rain water, protection of wildlife, provision of bike storage, and space for storing re-cycling boxes

Modified Litter Bins for cigarette litter
From the 1^st July 2007 England went smoke free, to reduce the amount of cigarette litter on the streetscene. West Berkshire Council has modified approximately 130 litter bins in the town centres across the district to encourage residents to dispose of their cigarette butts in an environmentally responsible manner. Each litter bin has had a stubber plate and ash tray added to the top it. This follows improvements to approximately 140 litter bins along the A34, A4 and part of the A339 were replaced with new bins to reduce the amount of litter along the roadside.

Litter Picking
Community groups and parishes are able to borrow litter pickers, gloves and high visibility vests from the Council for any clean up events they wish to hold in the district. The Council are also able to arrange for collection of any bags of litter that result from clean ups. Please contact Streetcare for information on litter picking packs.

Cleaner Greener Living

Climate change is a serious problem that affects us all. There is strong evidence that human emissions of greenhouse gases are changing the world's climate. The main greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide (CO2), produced when we burn fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas for energy.

Over 40 per cent of CO2 emissions in the UK come directly from what we do as individuals; for example, heating and using electricity in our homes - and driving vehicles.

Use the Act on CO2 calculator to find out what your carbon footprint is. You'll also get a personalised action plan with recommendations about how you can help tackle climate change - including links to further information on Directgov and the Energy Saving Trust website.

See 'Offsite Links' to navigate to the Directgov website to calculate your carbon footprint.

Cleaner Transport

On 8^th May 2007 West Berkshire introduced a new bus route called Service 2 operated by Weavaway. This service links residents in south Thatcham with Newbury Hospital and Newbury Town Centre. The bus is the first in the district to run on 100% bio diesel supplied by local producer, Enfuels. This environmentally friendly fuel in CO2 neutral, sulphur free, biodegradable and non-toxic and the vehicle requires no modifications to run on it.

Chewing Gum & Cigarette Butt Pouches
Throughout summer and autumn of 2007, Waste Services will be encouraging residents to dispose of their chewing gum and cigarettes in an environmentally responsible manner. Cleaning chewing gum off the UK's streets is estimated to cost councils nationally £150 million per year.

For easy disposal of your gum while on the move collect your FREE gum pouch from reception at Council Offices, Avon Bank, Faraday Road or Market Street in Newbury (whilst stocks last).

Recycling

We need to do something to reduce the amount of rubbish we throw away.  We all need to recycle more of the right things more often.  The good news is that it's easier than you might think.  We collect materials for recycling from your home.  For more information on recycling please visit the recycle for West Berkshire page or contact Streetcare.

Also under Cleaner Greener initiatives the Council will remove graffiti, pick up unwanted vehicles and bulky household waste for free. Please see related links for further information on these schemes.