The 10 local authorities with the best recycling rates all make fortnightly bin collections and comprehensively outperform those authorities which stick to traditional weekly systems, according to the Local Government Association.
In its first detailed analysis of council bin collections, the LGA found that recycling rates in authorities with fortnightly collections had recycling or composting rates averaging more than 30% – compared with just 23% for weekly systems. Council taxpayers could save up to £22M a year and reduce landfill by 1.2Mt if all councils met the average recycling rates of those with alternate weekly systems to collect household refuse one week and green bin recycling another, the association claimed.
All 10 councils with the highest recycling rates in the country had alternate weekly collections, and eight out of the 10 councils with the most improved recycling rates also used alternate weekly systems. North Kesteven recorded the highest recycling rate, at 51.5%, compared with Tower Hamlets which had the lowest at just 8.9%.
LGA chairman, Lord Bruce-Lockhart said: ‘Councils are listening to local residents and taking action over protecting the environment and helping tackle climate change. The move to alternate weekly bin collections is aimed at working with residents to reduce waste, increase recycling and slow rising costs from higher landfill tax.’ However, Westminster City Council said it would resist the trend to introduce fortnightly collections because of the high number of residents who lived in flats. Westminster’s cabinet member for street environment, Cllr Alan Bradley, said: ‘In an area such as Westminster, with a high-density population, and where almost 90% of residents live in flats, the consequences of refuse left uncollected for two weeks could pose health issues.
‘Most of our residents do not have the luxury of gardens or garages to store waste off the street, and they would not want to be confronted by the sights or smells of piles of rotting rubbish.’ The Daily Mail newspaper this week launched a campaign to put an end to alternate weekly collections.
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