PIONEERING recycling ideas have earned Bexley four successes in this year's National Recycling Awards.

Bexley, which is London's top borough for recycling, won awards in all the categories it entered.

It won best local authority initiative for its work with the borough's Sikh Gurdwara in Mitchell Close, Belvedere, where nearly 3,000 residents worship.

As well as teaching and worship, the temple also runs a daily free kitchen which generates lots of boxes, cans, jars, and vegetable waste.

Working with the council, the gurdwara now reycles 80 per cent of its rubbish.

The council is now expanding recycling to other community halls and places of worship.

New head of waste and street services Stephen Didsbury, who has worked for the council for 20 years, won the lifetime achievement award.

During his time, recycling has increased from 0.5 per cent of rubbish to 38 per cent.

Mr Didsbury was responsible for introducing kerbside collections for paper 11 years ago and has now expanded this to glass, plastics, cans and kitchen and garden waste.

Another employee, Rebecca Goodwin, was highly commended in the recycling officer of the year award section.

She helped introduce electrical appliance recycling in the borough and co-ordinated a pan-London real nappy campaign.

Bexley was one of only four local authorities to win an award for its electrical and electronic recycling.

The judges said: "The Bexley site is amazing; if it can be collected, they collect it."

The awards ceremony was held in Bournemouth.

Bexley Council's cabinet member for the environment Councillor Gareth Bacon says the awards were "richly deserved".