Fury at plan to limit to bin collections to as soon as a MONTH as a part of inexperienced plan ‘to spice up recycling’
A Green-run council could become the first in England to move to monthly bin collections.
Bristol City Council today launched a consultation on collecting non-recyclable waste from residents only every three or four weeks.
It is hoped this will encourage a boost in recycling rates, while the council claimed moving to a monthly collection would cut costs by around £2.3million.
But local residents have attacked the ‘bonkers’ plans and warned they will lead to an increase in fly-tipping.
Opposition councillors also demanded a focus on improving the existing bin collection service, before pushing ahead with the plans.
In their justification of the move, Bristol City Council pointed to the looming imposition of a carbon tax on the disposal of waste.
They said moving to a monthly bin collection would avoid nearly £1.5million of future carbon tax costs, while a collection every three weeks would save nearly £1million.
An increasing number of councils across Britain have already moved to three-weekly collections for general waste, with many also citing the need to cut carbon emissions.
If Bristol City Council pushes ahead with its four-weekly plan, it will spark fears that other cash-strapped local authorities might also be encouraged to implement monthly waste collections.
A Green-run council could become the first in England to move to monthly bin collections
Bristol City Council has launched a consultation on collecting non-recyclable waste from residents only every three or four weeks
The council’s deputy leader, Green Party councillor Heather Mack, told the BBC: ‘There’s due to be a tax on the residual waste we send to be processed, for the carbon in that.
‘So we really need to consider how much we’re sending and where else could it go.
‘We would also offer larger bins for larger households, and an extra collection for people with sanitary products or nappies, so we don’t want people to unduly struggle with this.’
Under the plans, Bristol City Council said food waste and recycling would be collected once a week, but non-recyclable waste would only be collected once every three or four weeks.
The public consultation on the potential changes will run until 10 March.
The council said the city currently recycles around 45 per cent of household waste, but warned the rate is dropping.
The proposed changes would ‘put us on a path to meet a national target of recycling 65 per cent of our city’s waste by 2035’, the council added.
Tom Renhard, leader of the Labour group on Bristol City Council, said: ‘There needs to be a focus on sorting out the existing service.
‘I’m getting an increasing number of complaints from local residents across the city that recycling isn’t being collected and black bins aren’t being collected on [the current] two-weekly basis.
‘Some of my residents haven’t had a recycling collection this side of Christmas.
‘You’re also starting to see that if residents’ recycling isn’t getting collected and it’s piling up, they’re going to put it in the bin, which isn’t going to help recycling rates.’
