You are in: home > environment & planning > waste >
Waste
Who does what?
Waste Collection & Disposal
Devon is a rural county in the South West region covering approximately 670.000 hectares. In the year 2000/02, the population was 718,650 with 289,031 households generating some 381,000 tonnes of household waste per annum. That's enough rubbish to fill Exeter Cathedral 6½ times - each year!
Waste Collection Authorities
Devon has eight City / District / Borough Councils, which are the Waste Collection Authorities (WCA), collecting household waste for recycling or disposal. They also provide recycling banks at car parks and other public locations, and sell home compost bins at reduced prices. For more details about recycling banks and kerbside recycling visit www.recycledevon.org
Waste Disposal Authority
Devon County Council is the Waste Disposal Authority (WDA) and is responsible for the safe disposal of the household waste, collected by each WCA and brought to Recycling Centres by the public. They provide sites where the public can take their bulky household and garden wastes for disposal, known in Devon as Recycling Centres. Plymouth and Torbay are unitary authorities acting as both WDA and WCA.
Community Organisations
There are many charities and not-for-profit groups in Devon recycling a wide range of materials. These include garden waste, paper, glass, garden waste, furniture and domestic appliances. Charity shops are also an excellent way to re-use unwanted household goods. The Devon Community Recycling Network and the Devon Community Composting Network have web sites giving more details.