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Council hits 70pc recycling with fortnightly bin collections
AN English council has become the first to recycle more than 70 per cent of residents’ rubbish, according to a new study which shows the best-performing local authorities are all now using fortnightly bin collections.
Research by the letsrecycle.com website reveals that nine of the 10 English councils with the highest recycling rates now have systems in which rubbish and recycling are collected on alternate weeks, with food waste collected separately for composting.
The controversial system has been criticised by the Tories who have urged a return to weekly bin rounds.
But councils say alternate-week collections work well, are cheaper to manage and that residents are generally happy with them.
As a result, more and more town halls are taking up the alternate-week system, despite pledges in the past by Communities Secretary Eric Pickles to reverse the move towards what he called “unpopular and unhygienic” fortnightly rubbish collections.
In its recent waste review, the Government admitted it would not be forcing councils to switch back to weekly collections.
According to letsrecycle.com, South Oxfordshire District Council came top in 2010/11 with a recycling and composting rate of almost 71 per cent.
It has alternate-week collection of rubbish and recycling and a weekly food waste pick-up – the same systems used by Rochford District Council in Essex, and Surrey Heath Borough Council, which came second and third in the poll.
Of the top 10, only Bournemouth Borough Council did not have alternate-week collections.
Biffa, the firm which runs services for South Oxfordshire as well as two other top-10 councils, said the results showed that its system of alternate-week collections, separate food waste collections and pick-ups of “commingled recycling” – in which tins, cans, plastic and paper can all be put into the same bin for collection – is the best way to increase recycling.
Picking up commingled recycling is seen as a more practical alternative to making residents sort their recycling into as many as nine bins or boxes, as some authorities require.
The latest official recycling rates for Yorkshire’s local authorities are due to be released by the Government in the next few months.
Last year Ryedale District Council was the region’s best-performing authority, recycling more than 50 per cent of residents’ waste.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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There are 2 comments to this article
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fornightlyworks-lol
Friday, September 30, 2011 at 01:28 AMI live in yorkshire and i can tell you fornightly collections for a average family of 6 simply does not and cannot work full stop. Over a period of 1-2 years i have paid the council hundreds of pounds to remove th excess green bin rubbish that builds up over the weeks. Every fortnight we have at the very least 4-5 black bags of green bin rubbish that cannot fit into the bin, eventually this builds up and up, and on average cost around £70- £120 to have the council remove it, a few timnes a year. Having no transport ( and if we did why would we polute it with rubbish ) we cannot go to the tip to remove it ourselves. Wouldn`t we be doing the councils job even if we did?! I`m wondering how many familys there are like us. I`ve lived in lancashire , inpaticular blackpool, ( a bin man is a bin man , the old fashioned hard working type ), not afraid of a bin lid half inch above its limit. These bin men work the aleet ways of blackpool removing anything in there path from wripped bin bags ( not in a bin ) to old cookers. Its a shame all bin rubbish collections aren`t done in the same fashion..
BrianW
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 at 06:19 PMIt is disturbing to note a report detailing joined up thinking can achieve 70% recycling when only 10 days ago we were informed that the Yorkshire Authorities claim polluting, inflexible and expensive incineration is the way to go for future waste disposal in the County. It is surely time for a full enquiry into Yorkshire’s approach to the waste challenge. The Sheffield incineratorEFW operating experience highlights failure to embrace waste reality with current required import of feedstock with transport impact to compensate for reducing waste availability locally. The inability of East Riding to utilise potential of waste illustrates fundamental problems in application of due diligence. I note on large Local Authority controlled caravan sites a single token waste paper disposal point with a number of general bins around the site which encourages contamination of recyclable material.We are aware recycling paper brings 70% gain over burning to provide energy plus recycling minimises pollution impact. With the knowledge that 70% recycling is achievable why are the Authorities so determined to ignore superior , preferred waste streaming and waste cash on expensive burning processes causing deliberate air quality degradation? Where are joined up thinking, due diligence and duty of care when we need them most ?.
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