Councillor Jacqui Beswick explains the rationale behind the council decision to change bin collections

Councillor Jacqui Beswick

Following the council cabinet decision to approve the waste and recycling service proposal, Councillor Jacqui Beswick explains the rationale behind the decision.

Dear Editor,

People will undoubtedly have questions about the changes to recycling the council is planning to introduce from October. They should be reassured that the introduction of new weekly collections for food waste and garden waste will eliminate the potential for bad smells and flies, particularly during the summer months.

Hefty disposal charges means that at the moment it costs £10 every time we collect a green general waste bin which works out at £306.62 per tonne. If we do not increase recycling and reduce the amount of general waste, the total cost of waste disposal could increase by as much as £2 million by 2016/17. We want residents to help us save £1million every year by recycling more and using the new weekly food and garden waste collection. We know there is a lot more that could be recycled so it is important people use the new weekly service we are providing.

Research shows that approximately 32% of a household bin is food waste, so an average family who recycles as much as they can should have enough space in their general waste bin (dark green bin) for three weeks. If residents do recycle but find that they still need more room to store all non-recyclable waste, residents can contact us and we can offer advice on reducing the amount of waste generated and we may be able to provide an additional general waste bin.

Paper, bottles and plastic will be collected every three weeks. This should not be a problem as many recycling bins are seldom full and some residents opt to empty them only every four or six weeks.

Together the changes will see recycling rates increase rapidly and reduce the cost of disposal – helping to save council tax payers money to make better use of funds which could be spent on other essential public services.

Thank you for your co-operation in helping the borough recycle – and save – more

Councillor Jacqui Beswick
Cabinet Member for the Environment