Council offers discounted insulation grants
West Oxfordshire District Council is offering discounted insulation schemes so that residents can improve the energy efficiency of their homes and keep the costs of energy bills down.
For only £99* householders will be able to have cavity wall or loft insulation fitted, normally this would cost between £150 and £500. Anyone aged 70 or over, and those in receipt or certain state benefits, may qualify to have the work done free.
Cllr David Harvey, Cabinet Member for Environment said, “After such a long cold winter we are all very aware of the high costs of heating bills and so we hope that many people will take advantage of this excellent offer. With reduced heating bills residents will soon get their money back and will make savings year after year. As well as reducing fuel bills, insulation helps protect the environment so overall it’s a win-win situation.”
The District Council is able to offer the energy incentive scheme by working in partnership with the United Sustainable Energy Agency (USEA) based in Milton Keynes.
The incentive is managed by USEA’s Cocoon service. To get started householders can contact the Cocoon website: www.cocoonyourhome.co.uk or call 0800 8048777 and ask for the 'West Oxfordshire Special'. Lines are open 8am - 9pm Monday to Friday.
*Residents may have to pay more if the property is larger than average or if access is difficult or extra vents are required.
Which Plastic Can We Recycle?
Many villagers have commented on the fact that not all their plastic is being collected for recycling and being left in their recycling bins. This has been due to the WODC waste and recycling contractor May Gurney’s contention that the contract specification states that only plastic bottles, plant pots, carrier bags and rigid household plastic materials would be collected for recycling and thus other plastic materials will not be collected at this time.
However, WODC’s contractual understanding is that all plastic materials would be collected and recycled. WODC Officers believed that this commitment was given in the company’s method statement and during mobilisation discussions.
After several discussions at the end of June between WODC and May Gurney, the contractor has agreed to collect some additional plastic materials. The definitive plastic list is now:
* plastic bottles (e.g. milk bottles, water & drink bottles, washing up bottles, cosmetic bottles) * plastic tubs (margarine, butter & ice cream tubs)
* plastic pots (e.g. yoghurt pots)
* plant pots
* food trays
* carrier bags
* small clear food packaging (e.g. fruit, salad and
sandwich bags)
* biscuit trays
Following careful negotiation with May Gurney, agreement has been reached to add the collection of * polythene
* bubble wrap
* shrink wrap
* cling film
* compost bag
to the other plastic items which will be collected for recycling. This will initially be carried out for a 3 month ‘trial’ period to enable May Gurney to gain a full understanding of operational implications.
Source: Trevor Askew, Head of Environment & Commercial Services, WODC