A £120 prize proved heaven sent for a recycling Reverend in Fulford.
Vicar Peter Dakin was awarded the sum after he took part in Stafford Borough Council’s latest doorstep recycling challenge.
As ALBOS reported last month, the normal £60 prize was not won in December, which meant one lucky Fulford resident had the chance of bagging double the money if they could prove to be a good recycler.
Naturally, Reverend Dakin, aged 58, of Tudor Hollow in the village, was delighted to discover he was the latest winner.
[box type=”shadow” align=”aligncenter” ]The married father-of-two, who is Minister at St Nicholas in Fulford and Christ Church in Hilderstone, said: “Care for the environment is a biblical theme. My wife Cathy and I try and keep watching the rubbish to make sure the rubbish goes in the green bin and the blue bin is where the recycling goes.
“Of course, it’s a good idea to promote recycling and it’s amazing how much stuff can be recycled if you take care. Although when the children of Israel spent 40 years in the wilderness I don’t think they took green and blue bins with them!”[/box]
Councillor Frank Finlay, Cabinet Member for Environment and Health, said: “Congratulations to Reverend Dakin. This is a fantastic scheme. The amount of people who have heard about it and said they hope to win the prize demonstrates that we are getting the recycling message out there. And if more people recycle that will help towards hitting the 60% target we have set ourselves. Of course, the council is given money for the amount we recycle and this cash is pumped back into the service. And the more money coming back to the service means less money needed to run it, ultimately keeping the council tax down.”
[box type=”info” align=”aligncenter” ]The doorstep recycling challenge - dubbed ‘Coming to a Bin Near You’ – sees the Council visit a house selected at random each month. If the householder agrees to take part and has nothing recyclable in their green refuse bin they will get £60. But if they don’t succeed, the team will visit other properties in the street.
The scheme was introduced in 2014 and has seen winners from around the borough. It is part of a campaign to boost household recycling – which the local authority says will help keep council tax down. An increase of just 1% on recycling is worth thousands of pounds to the authority.
The address is secret although the council publicises the area they will be visiting on its website in advance. People can also find out by contacting 01785 619402. To find out more recycling and bin information go to www.staffordbc.gov.uk/binday [/box]
