Golden bin scoops £100

Dalston resident Brendan Cherry found himself £100 better off after winning Resource Cumbria`s Golden Bin competition this week.

Brendan ordered a compost bin as part of Compost Awareness Week celebrations in May run by Resource Cumbria - the waste partnership between Cumbria County Council the district councils. Brendan was picked as the lucky winner of £100 of garden centre vouchers donated by DHL, the logistics company that delivers the scheme`s compost bins.

The brand new bin, complete with giant gold bow, was delivered to Brendan at home by Judith Bradshaw, Resource Cumbria`s recycling ranger for Carlisle and Eden.

Judith said: "It must have been a nice surprise to end up £100 better off just for getting a new compost bin for the garden. Brendan is just one of thousands of people in Cumbria who are taking advantage of the cut price compost bins. He will now be able to recycle up to one third of his household waste by home composting and in the process make free fertiliser for his garden."

Brendan was one of 2,555 people so far this year to take advantage of a special scheme to provide cut-price compost bins to Cumbrian households. That`s on top of 11,691 bins provided last year through the scheme operated in the county by Resource Cumbria.

Composting and recycling rates in Cumbria have been rising year on year.

In 2006/7 the county achieved a combined household recycling rate of 34.12% made up of 14.84% of recycling and 19.09% composting. In real terms that meant 1,900 fewer waste lorries dumped their loads in landfill sites. In 2004, Cumbria`s combined recycling and composting rate was just 17.7%. The county`s target for 2007/8 is to reach 38% - 16% composting and 22% recycling.