RECYCLING in Suffolk is today set to get a multi-million pound boost from the government.The Department of the Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) is to give £4.

RECYCLING in Suffolk is today set to get a multi-million pound boost from the government.

The Department of the Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) is to give £4.8 million to the Suffolk recycling partnership to support recycling and composting schemes in the county.

The partnership includes Suffolk County Council and five of the seven district and borough councils.

The money has come through the National Waste Minimisation and Recycling Fund to help reduce the amount of household and garden waste going to landfill over the next two years.

The grant will be used to develop and expand composting facilities to manage green waste collected from people's homes, and to expand the kerbside collection of green waste, paper, cans and plastics.

This should mean the Ipswich composting plant will once more be able to accept household waste.

The move was welcomed by Harold Mangar, Ipswich council's environment spokesman.

He said: "It's very good news for Ipswich and I would hope that we can start to collect kitchen waste again in brown bins by the summer. We shall keep residents fully informed."

Julian Swainson, the county council's portfolio holder for sustainable environment, planning and transport, said: "This is a wonderful opportunity for Suffolk's local councils to deliver first rate recycling and composting services to the county's residents.

"There is a lot of hard work ahead for the Suffolk Recycling Partnership to deliver recycling programmes to meet Government targets, but the grant is a huge boost to Suffolk's recycling and composting efforts."

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