In a statement released this week, the Audit Commission blamed the council's lack of waste reduction measures on its slow progress on developing a waste strategy, saying the lack of long term goals has “undermined the development” of its waste service.
Bill Sanderson, Audit Commission relationship manager, said: “It is important that the council finalises its waste management strategy as swiftly as possible and clarifies its longer term ambitions for the service.”
Although the council is on target to meet this year's statutory recycling target of 14%, North Somerset's annual waste growth rate of 5.4% is more than twice the national average of 2.4%.
Catherine McCoy, waste minimisation officer for North Somerset council, admitted that the lack of a waste strategy meant it was difficult for the council to progress with waste reduction measures.
Ms McCoy said: “It is a significant problem that we are trying to address and over the past few months we have been talking to councillors about its importance and they are beginning to see how it will cost them more if they do nothing.”
Population
The Commission acknowledged that an expanding population has contributed to the rapid growth in waste. The number of residents in North Somerset has doubled over the past 50 years to 190,000 and estimates suggest it will grow by a further 10,000 people in the next five years.
But the Audit Commission also said an absence of restrictions on the volume of waste that can be left out by residents for collection means there is no encouragement for minimisation.
Ms McCoy said: “I know that we have an expanding population at the moment with a lot of developments. But even so, people can put out as many bags as they like, three, six or even nine, and you would be surprised how many people do.”
Ms McCoy is hoping to get waste minimisation into a consultation draft of the municipal waste strategy that is currently being prepared by North Somerset council for publication in April 2004. “It is going out for public consultation in April to August and the document is just being written at the moment,” said Ms McCoy, “We are hoping that by September that we will adopt the strategy.”
At the moment the household waste collections in North Somerset use black sacks with no restrictions on the number that are collected alongside a kerbside collection of paper, glass, cans, textiles and shoes. Ms McCoy explained that the council is considering different schemes to encourage residents to reduce their waste including restricting households to one 140 litre wheeled bin for residual waste, introducing fortnightly collections and new kerbside collections for green waste.
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