FENLAND District Council received a massive response to its recycling survey and competition, with almost 1,000 entrants competing for the three wind-up radios as prizes. The winners, Mrs Brooker, of Wisbech St Mary, Graham Caudle, of Friday Bridge, and M

FENLAND District Council received a massive response to its recycling survey and competition, with almost 1,000 entrants competing for the three wind-up radios as prizes.

The winners, Mrs Brooker, of Wisbech St Mary, Graham Caudle, of Friday Bridge, and Mrs Robinson, of Chatteris, were presented with their Dynamo radios this week.

The council's waste and recycling team were astonished at the response and the survey material that has now been sifted and analysed has presented the authority with a clear picture of how the Fenland public view the council's recycling efforts.

The survey asked householders three questions.

* How important do you think it is to recycle the rubbish households produce?

An astonishing 97 per cent of people who responded believed it was very important to do so. Two per cent thought it was fairly important, while 0.6 per cent said it was not very important and 0.4 per cent said it was not important at all.

* What motivates you to recycle?

In response, 41 per cent said they recycled because they thought it was good for the environment; 13 per cent said it was to reduce landfill; eight per cent did so as a benefit for future generations; eight per cent because it was easy with the wheelie bins; seven per cent to reduce pollution; four per cent because it was good for the economy and 0.3 per cent because they felt guilty if they did not recycle their waste.

* How satisfied are you with the council's waste and recycling services?

An impressive 66 per cent said they were very satisfied; 27 per cent were satisfied; 2.5 per cent were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied; two per cent were dissatisfied and 1.5 per cent were very dissatisfied.

The competition question asked how many tonnes of waste material have been diverted from landfill through recycling and composting from April 2005 to March 2006. The correct answer was 12,900 tonnes.

Competition winner Graham Caudle said: "I am delighted to have won an environmentally-friendly wind-up radio. I fully support the council's waste recycling efforts. It is something we must all get involved in if we are to stop wasting our planet's resources. I acquired the recycling habit as a young boy, taking newspapers and pop bottles back to shops."

Councillor Peter Murphy, portfolio holder for Streets Ahead, said: "We had a tremendous response to the survey and competition and the information we have received gives us a clear measure of the views of householders.

"I am delighted that the vast majority of people believe in the need to recycle our waste. We will have to work harder, now, to convince the diminishing number of sceptics.