Councils say government’s plan for ‘National Bin Service’ with SIX types of collection is ‘madness’

The UK government’s plans to introduce consistent waste collection policies across England could prove unworkable, councils warn.

According to waste management sources, details of major government reforms on waste collection in England will be confirmed later this week.

They are expected to ensure that all municipalities collect food and garden waste, as well as metal, plastic, paper and cardboard.

Municipalities are obliged to collect recyclable waste streams separately, unless this is not technically or economically feasible.

In some cases, this could mean an increase in the number of bins that households are expected to use for their recycling.

Companies, schools and offices are also expected to recycle dry materials and separate food waste where possible.

The government said standardization will increase recycling rates and simplify waste management.

But council leaders criticized the proposed changes.

Peter Fleming, the Conservative leader of Kent’s Sevenoaks District Council, said the reforms would lead to more refuse collection vehicles on the road and would do nothing to encourage reductions in household waste through behavioral change.

“The idea that standardization – a nationwide garbage service – is the way forward makes absolutely no sense,” he told the paper. BBC.

Waste management is largely a devolved matter in the UK, with governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland setting their own policies.

At present, local councils in England have the freedom to determine how and when waste is collected from households and businesses.

But last year the government passed a new law requiring a consistent set of recyclable waste to be collected separately from all households and businesses.

The Environment Act, which came into force in 2021, also prescribes that the collection of food waste must take place at least once a week.

The cabinet also wants municipalities to collect garden waste free of charge, but to give them the right to charge for this outside the basic service.

Progress in recycling in the UK has seen little progress in recent years, with the rate in England remaining at around 45 per cent as of 2015.

The UK government has committed to meeting a 65 per cent municipal recycling rate by 2035.

In 2021, the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) conducted a public consultation on how best to use its waste collection powers under the Environmental Act.

According to waste management industry sources, the plans are expected to be announced on Friday.

The proposals in the consultation would cost more than £465 million a year over the first seven years of implementation, according to research from the District Councils’ Network, a lobbying group, who said they wanted the government to honor its commitment to help fund the changes.

Environment Secretary Therese Coffey will specify in the new regulations the types of materials that must be collected within each recyclable waste stream.

Charlotte Paine, who heads the operational services of the Zuid-Holland District Council, said that the separate collection of recyclable materials is attractive in principle.

“But trying to say it has to be done a certain way just doesn’t work given the complexity of the different areas,” she told the BBC.

‘A lot depends on where your waste goes, your local recycling company and how well they handle it. That’s where this consistency is going to fall down.”

A Defra spokesman said the waste management reforms would ‘make recycling easier and ensure there is a comprehensive, consistent service across England’.

“This will help to use more recycled material in the products we buy and encourage a growing UK recycling industry,” the spokesman said. “We have held a public consultation on the proposed changes and will announce more details shortly.”