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Fortnightly bin rounds 'can double recycling'
Last updated at 12:09pm on 26.04.07
Dirty work: councils must reduce biodegradable waste sent to landfill
The prospect of fortnightly refuse collections has moved a step closer in London after a council forced it on 2,500 households.
Kingston-upon-Thames council conducted a trial among hundreds of homes, switching fortnightly recycling collections to weekly while changing the frequency of refuse collections from weekly to fortnightly.
In compensation for the less frequent collections, larger wheelie bins were available for those who requested them.
Critics say the delay encourages the growth of bacteria and attracts vermin and residents said the bins were still not big enough.
The trial, in the Berrylands area of Kingston, raises fears of fortnightly collections being introduced across London after it was hailed a success.
Homes that took part in the trial saw the council collecting cardboard and organic waste such as kitchen scraps.
Previously the green boxes had been used only for cans and tins, glass bottles and jars, paper, plastic bottles, textiles and shoes.
The results showed the amount of waste being recycled more than doubled from an average of 2.41kg per household per week to 6.10kg.
An additional 3.58kg per household per week of cardboard and organic waste has been diverted from landfill sites since the trial began.
The contract for waste disposal is up for renewal but if councillors agree the scheme is a success all homes in the borough face fortnightly rubbish collection. Lee Marshall, chairman of the Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee, said the new scheme was successful.
He said: "On first inspection, the waste minimisation and recycling figures from the Berrylands trial look very impressive.
"The data is particularly interesting as the trial includes some features that are not yet being widely used, such as the weekly collection of food waste for recycling.
"Local authorities across the country are having to make brave decisions in order to meet the challenging targets set for them by Government. The Berrylands trial was a brave step for Kingston council but it is clearly paying off."
Every local authority in the country has been set a target by central government of achieving a 65 per cent reduction in the amount of biodegradable waste sent to landfill by 2020.
Authorities which do not meet these " landfill allowance" targets will be penalised with heavy fines of £150 per tonne over their allowance. On top of this, councils also have to pay a landfill tax, which at the moment is set at £24 per tonne, but by 2010 will have doubled to £48.
The trial comes as the Local Government Association announced recycling rates go up 30 per cent when councils switch to alternate weekly collections.
Reader views (10)
I honestly don't see how less frequent collection 'helps recycling'. If we have different bins for different waste we will split it up however frequently the bins are collected.
- Paul, London
Unfortunately, public bins were removed in the 70's & 80's as a result of the IRA bombing campaigns, so given that we're now faced with another potential terrorist bombing campaign it might not make sense to re-install that many bins anymore.
However, supermarket packaging accounts for the vast majority of my excess waste these days so this should be reduced as fara as possible.
- Terryh, London
Mark, not only Japan has those bins, Germany too has a similar kind in public places. But back to the point, shouldn't England just start with ANY bins in public places?
- Iris, Kent
If the supermarkets got rid of excess packaging, then it would solve half of the problem. As it is, when putting away my shopping, I can half fill the bin with uneccessary wrappers, seals, bags etc.
Why can't we adopt the American method of providing paper bags for shopping instead of plastic? At least it would be biodegradable.
- Brian, Telford
Being a true tree-hugger I'm sort of in favour because there doesn't seem to be any alternatives that are less harsh but get results.
However, I think councils should take a lead on this rather than sitting back and diverting the pain to their residents.
4 years ago I was in Japan and every bin (the public ones on streets) had a separate section for glass, tin and paper. There were bins like this next to every vending machine, outside every train station etc. I've never seen a single one in London.
Come on!
- Fulham Mark, Fulham, England
And what exactly do we pay our council tax for? If they choose to reduce the service then can we have a tax rebate. I refuse to pay for something I don't get.
- Albert Swift, Aberdeen, UK
We have fortnightly collections and it's not too bad for most of the year but during the summer it's a real pain - especially since we have nowhere else to keep our bins than on our patio. I would suggest the councils resume weekly collections for the summer months at least - that's a reasonable compromise. With regard to increasing recycling rates I don't see how that can be. You either recyle or you don't.
- Isabel, Woking, England
They conducted it in Berrylands? And I always thought it was the sewage works that I was smelling as I went past on the train, it was obviously table scraps.
- Trevor Roll, London
It's about time we recycle the government.
- Jay, London
Let's become the recycling capital of the world - have one just before every World Cup.
- Charles Siu, London UK
