Agenda 21 - the new Council guide - get your copy now!

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for to help protect the local enviroment

Action on the Environment contains facts and figures about the steps the council is taking to protect the local environment. It also contains a wealth of information to help members of the public play their part.

The 17 page brochure shows how residents can save energy and water, tips on how households can maximise their recycling and ways in which motorists can both save petrol and reduce pollution.

There is also information on how people can improve their gardens without using chemicals, become more confident using a bicycle, cut vehicle journeys and protect local wildife and habitats.

The brochure also shows what steps the council has taken to improve and protect the local environment. These include:

• Between 1996 and 2004, the council helped improve the energy efficiency of local households by more than 16 per cent.

• Carbon dioxide emissions from council-owned premises has been cut by 19 per cent compared to 1990 levels.

• Fifty per cent of the council's energy supply now comes from renewable sources.

• Between 2000 and 2004, the council cut its metered water use by more than five per cent.

• The introduction of the new Orange sack service saw recycling levels leap from 10.5 per cent in 2002/3 to 18.5 per cent last year.

• The council also brought back into use 121 privately owned empty properties last year.


In his foreword to the brochure, the council's deputy leader Maurice Heaster says: "We can all play our part in keeping Wandsworth a brighter borough.

"As a council we have long been concerned to protect and enhance the environment for all those who choose Wandsworth to live, work and for leisure.

"If you share our commitment for a better quality of life for current and future generations of Wandsworth people, you will find much in this brochure to inspire you. If we all 'do our bit' we will all be winners."

                                         

May 16, 2005