Sutton Council is offering young athletes the opportunity to represent the borough in the Virgin Money Giving Mini-London Marathon in April.

Anyone aged 11 to 17 who lives or goes to school in Sutton can take part for free but must pre-register by Friday 19 February.

To compete in the five-kilometre race against all 32 other London Boroughs, the runners will need to qualify in the local Sutton Trials on Saturday 27 February.

The trials take place at the Roundshaw ‘Park Run’, Roundshaw Downs, off Purley Way, and the athletes must turn up on the day to register there from 10.30 to 11.00am, with the race starting at 11.30am

The age categories are:

• Girls under 13 (born between 1 September 2002 and 24 April 2005 – and must be at least 11 years old on 24 April 2016)
• Girls under 15 (born between 1 September 2000 and 31 August 2002).
• Girls under 17 (born between 1 September 1998 and 31 August 2000).
• Boys under 13 (born between 1 September 2002 and 24 April 2005 – and must be at least 11 years old on 24 April 2016)
• Boys under 15 (born between 1 September 2000 and 31 August 2002).
• Boys under 17 (born between 1 September 1998 and 31 August 2000).

The first four runners to reach the finish in each age range at the trials will be selected to represent Sutton in the young people’s event, which takes place on the final stretch of the famous London Marathon route in central London on London Marathon day, Sunday 24 April.

The five-kilometre route will see the athletes run from Blackfriars, along the Thames to the Marathon’s finish line in Pall Mall.

Cllr Jill Whitehead, Chair of the Environment & Neighbourhoods Committee at Sutton Council, said:

“This is a tremendous opportunity for our top runners to enjoy the buzz of the London Marathon and represent Sutton in front of crowds of thousands of people. We hope as many of young Sutton athletes as possible register to take part in this exciting event.”

To enter the Sutton Trials, go to the London Borough of Sutton website and the Mini-London Marathon page and complete the Sutton online application form by clicking here.

Shoppers on Sutton High Street were presented with some chilling facts about food waste with the aid of a large inflatable freezer appearing for the first time in London.

Love Food Hate Waste’s BIG Freeze event, in association with Sutton Council, aimed to inform borough residents about how they can save money and reduce food waste by keeping leftovers and certain foods in their freezers to reuse and make the most of their shopping. The average household throws out a staggering £60 of food a month, and over the course of a year that adds up to around £700.

A team of advisers was on hand to engage shoppers in conversation and share handy money-saving tips. Interactive quizzes and puzzles tested passers-by on their knowledge of which items can and cannot be frozen, and there was also the chance to enter a prize draw with a prize of a Nutribullet or an ice cream maker.

Carshalton Central Cllr Jill Whitehead, Chair of the Environment & Neighbourhood Committee at Sutton Council, said:

“One of the ways we can all reduce food waste is by making sure we’re freezing leftovers rather than throwing them away. I understand as a householder that it can be difficult to remember exactly what can be frozen safely – we’re proud to work together with organisations like Love Food Hate Waste to become a greener borough.

“Reducing food waste is not only good for our environment but it’s good for our wallets.”

As a Sustainable Food City, Sutton is committed to reducing food waste. The reduction of food waste and associated costs means more money can be invested in vital services and the borough can achieve its One Planet Sutton aims.

James McGowan, Campaign Manager for Love Food Hate Waste, said:

“Each time we come to Sutton we’re impressed by how committed the council and residents are to reducing food waste. The BIG Freeze is a great event and it’s a pleasure to see our messages delivered in such a receptive and engaging manner. Freezing food is a great way to extend its shelf life and help us out when we’ve cooked too much of something.”

Love Food Hate Waste’s BIG Freeze event has recently toured the country appearing in 10 major UK cities. It was quite a coup for Sutton to be the first London borough to see it – now it’s up to all of us in the area to prevent good food going to waste and help build a better planet.

The Sutton Love Food Hate Waste campaign is funded by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) after Sutton Council’s successful bid for funding.

Green recycling bins cannot collected if the wrong items have been placed in them. A complete list of the items which can be placed in them and the items which should instead be placed in brown refuse bins can be found at www.sutton.gov.uk/recycling.

Waste & recycling advisers will deliver letters to residents whose recycling collections cannot be taken explaining why, and will offer help and advice about ways to easily resolve the situation.

The letters will also contain advice about which items can and cannot be recycled in the borough. This way, residents will be informed about the reasons for non-collections and what they can do to make sure their recycling is always collected.

Jill Whitehead, Chair of the Environment & Neighbourhoods Committee at Sutton Council, said:

“We know Sutton residents care about the environment and are committed to recycling. Our recycling rate is above the London average and that’s something of which we can be very proud. However, there are still ways we can improve upon this. By working with our residents and making sure they are aware of exactly what can be recycled, and giving them clear and helpful advice about why a collection may not be taken, we know that we can achieve an even greener Sutton.”

In the past contamination has resulted in whole lorryloads of recycled materials being rejected at the recycling facility. Instead of being recycled all the material ends up being sent to landfill. Recycling has lots of benefits for our communities, the main one being that it is far cheaper to dispose of good quality recyclable material than it is to send it to landfill. That money can then be spent on other council services.

Sutton’s current recycling rate is 37%, above the London average of 34%.

The early bird discount offer runs until 31 January 2016, with £10 off the cost of the garden waste collection service until that date.

The charges for garden waste collections for 2016 are as follows:

The price for 2016 is for 19 fortnightly collections, six more than in 2015.

The garden waste collections will start on Easter Monday, 28 March 2016, and finish on 17 December 2016. Residents will continue to have their garden waste collections on the same day as their recycling collections.

New subscribers can choose from two sizes of green waste bin – the standard-size 240-litre bin for residents with a medium-sized garden or a smaller 140-litre bin for residents with a small garden. Residents with large gardens can have two 240-litre bins for residents with a large garden.

Green waste bins for the new subscribers will be delivered before the service begins.

Carshalton Central’s Cllr Jill Whitehead, Chair of the Environment and Neighbourhoods Committee at Sutton Council, said:

“The new green garden waste service was a great success last year and now we need at least 10,000 residents to pay for the garden waste service before the end of January in order to secure the service for the coming year. Those who do so will secure a £10 discount. We are delighted that more than 7,000 Sutton residents have signed up already but we want to encourage as many more as possible to do so before the end of January.”

Residents wanting to join the scheme or renew their subscription should click here to pay for the service by debit card or credit card.