Changes to the way in which organic materials are collected and recycled in response to national legislation and regional pressures have been approved by Basildon councillors.
At a meeting of the Neighbourhoods and Public Spaces Committee last night (Wednesday 23 September) councillors agreed to adopt a revised waste and recycling collection system for kerbside properties for garden and food waste. They agreed to the following changes:
- To separate food and garden waste for collection
- To provide a weekly collection of separated food waste
- To provide a segregated garden waste collection
Chairman of the Neighbourhoods and Public Spaces Committee Councillor David Harrison said:
“We all have a responsibility to minimise our environmental impact. This includes making sure we are working in accordance with current and future legal requirements. By being proactive and delivering against our ambitious waste strategy we are taking positive steps towards our aims and to improve our environmental performance to deliver an environmental legacy we can be proud of.
“We must make changes to the way we collect garden and food waste, not only because of the forthcoming National Waste Strategy and Environment Bill but because of the ambitions of our own Waste Strategy and corporate plan in making the service efficient and environmentally sound, and to be sure that the service delivers for both our residents and businesses. We will be working alongside our residents to make sure this happens.”
Nationally, the revised Waste Strategy for England and the Environment Bill is aiming to radically change how waste is reduced, reused and recycled. This will affect the way in which local authorities collect and treat waste. The draft Environment Bill states that food and garden waste must be collected separately from homes and businesses from 2023. As well as this, there are clear targets set by The Circular Economy Package, which commit the UK to achieve a recycling rate of 65% by 2035.
Regionally, processing capacity for mixed garden and food waste is disappearing from as soon as 2021, which will increase costs and the environmental impact of this waste.
Last November councillors on the Neighbourhoods and Public Spaces Committee approved the long-term strategic goals and principles of a waste strategy for the borough.
