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Cut Crime and Recycle the Christmas!
The Crime Reduction Partnerships are reminding householders this Christmas to take care of your Christmas presents - and Wake-up-to-Waste.
As part of a new Burglary Strategy, the Crime Reduction Partnerships in Somerset are raising awareness of the simple steps we can all take to make it harder for the potential burglar, by recycling your empty cardboard present boxes. This is just one of the many steps that we can all easily do to fight crime.
“Recycling your waste this Christmas can be more than just good for the environment,” commented Cllr Alan Gloak, “it can also help reduce burglaries that occur over the festive season. We are working together as The Crime Reduction Partnerships in Somerset, and are concerned over the number of people that leave their cardboard boxes out too early for the refuse collection.”
“These boxes, that may have previously contained expensive Christmas gifts, are an advertisement to opportunist criminals that new goods have recently been bought, and can make a property vulnerable to break-ins. So look after your presents this Christmas and recycle cardboard at your local Household Waste Recycling Centre. There are seventeen such sites across the County, all of which have containers cardboard recycling, and apart from Christmas Day and New Years Day, are open throughout the festive season”.
The County Councils Community Safety Officer, Sarah Thornton, endorsed the work of the Crime Reduction Partnerships, “during the festive season we all produce a significant amount of waste, most of which can be recycled. It is good to hear yet another sound reason for recycling your waste – basically, it makes good crime prevention sense to recycle this Christmas”.
To find out where your nearest Household Waste Recycling Centre is, and to learn more about recycling in Somerset logon to www.recyclesomerset.info. For more information on the work of The Crime Reduction Partnerships, log onto www.somerset.gov.uk/communitysafety or email crimereduction@somerset.gov.uk
Notes for Editors
There are 5 Crime Reduction Partnerships in Somerset, which operate within district council boundaries.
Domestic burglaries in the Avon and Somerset Constabulary force area increased from just over 1,000 burglaries per month in April 1999, to currently just over 1,200 per month.
In both 2001/02 and 2002/03 statistics have shown that approximately 41% of all domestic burglaries in the force area are attributable to the Taunton sector, 28% to the Bridgwater sector, 18% to the Burnham sector and 13% to the Minehead sector.
The Somerset Waste Partnership dealt with 288,000 tonnes of household waste during 2002 - 03. Of this figure, 20.27% was recycled.
The Somerset Waste Partnership has a statutory household waste recycling target of 28% for 2003/04 and 40% by 2005/06.
Interviews -
For Crime Reduction: Cllr Alan Gloak on 01458 831998 or 07860 463647
For waste and recycling:Cllr Jim Mochnacz on 01458 442229 or Paul Chiplen, Somerset County Council, Waste Minimisation Campaigns Officer (01823 355665, pchiplen@somerset.gov.uk).
11 December 2003
For further details contact Sarah Thornton
01823 357837
Email: crimereduction@somerset.gov.uk
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