RECYCLING firm Hills Waste Solutions is celebrating the fact that Wiltshire people have helped it divert two million tonnes of the county’s household waste away from landfill in the 20 years since the firm took on the contract for managing recycling centres.

The waste and recycling management firm passed the milestone by using re-use, recycling and facilities that convert waste into energy.

To mark the occasion and thank Wiltshire residents for their contribution to the achievement, Hills is giving away 10,000 re-usable shopping bags across the county’s 11 household recycling centres from Saturday (25 February), on a first-come, first-served basis (one per vehicle).

Toby Sturgis, Wiltshire Council cabinet member for Waste said: “This is a major milestone in our drive to ensure Wiltshire adopts more sustainable ways of managing waste. I’d like to congratulate all Wiltshire residents and our contractors, Hills Waste Solutions, who have helped us reach this target so quickly.”

Hills first signed a waste management contract with Wiltshire Council in 1996, which included operating household recycling centres – of which there were only two at the time.

Over the years the number of household recycling centres has grown to 11, and Hills have also helped introduce and operate black box kerbside recycling collections and started producing compost from Wiltshire’s garden waste.

Wiltshire has been getting better and better at recycling: whilst it took 11 years for the first 500,000 tonnes of waste to be diverted from landfill, it took only another four years to hit the one million mark in 2011.

Only six years on, the amount of waste diverted from landfill has doubled to a staggering two million tonnes.

Mike Webster, group director Hills Waste Solutions, said: “Since we signed the contract in 1996 we have taken huge strides in improving the way we manage waste and recycling.

“We now divert just over 78 per cent of Wiltshire’s household waste from landfill each year and have invested significant time and resources into adopting and developing new technologies to achieve this.

“We are proud of our contribution towards, and we remain committed to, making Wiltshire a greener place to live and work.”

Each household recycling centre will also display a banner, thanking Wiltshire residents for their help reaching the two million mark.