14th May 2007

Greens' Station Recycling

Action demonstrates lack of progress by authorities.

Green Party members collected several several sackfuls of plastic bottles and newspapers from commuters at St Albans station on Tuesday (24th April).

Members held signs and green recycling bins inviting commuters to hand in their recyclable rubbish, rather than put it in litter bins. The action was intended to highlight the failure of the council and rail authorities to place recycling bins at the station exits.

Green Party spokesman Simon Grover said: "There is a big problem with overflowing litter bins and rubbish near the station, and a missed opportunity to recycle a huge amount every day. We have been talking to First Capital Connect and the district council about this issue since October last year. Each blames each other, Network Rail or the Department for Transport and nothing gets done."

"This is not rocket science, it should be an easy problem to solve. Here is an example of how a simple change could be made if only there was a small amount of will to do it. I hope our highlighting of this issue amongst passengers themselves will help prompt the authorities to take some action."

"The reaction from commuters was fantastic - everyone seemed to think it was a great idea, and clearly there is a demand for recycling at the station exits."

First Capital Connect has said recycling bins on their property would be a security problem. Network Rail apparently owns the land around Station Way, and the Department for Transport has banned all waste receptacles from certain stations, but says it is undertaking a review of the categorisation of security at stations. St Albans Council says there is a shortage of space for recycling bins near the station, and collection on a busy road might be difficult.