We are not moving to AWC, insists Birmingham

_{^{By Chris Sloley}}
Birmingham city council has hit out at local media reports that it is going to switch to alternate weekly waste collections in order to help trim £1.4 million-a-year from its waste and recycling services budget.

Such a move could have proved unpopular, especially because of the densely populated, urban nature of the city- providing less room for waste receptacles.

However, the city council has been quick to contest these claims, with councillor Tim Huxtable, the cabinet member with the portfolio for transportation and regeneration, dismissing the media reports of alternate weekly collections (AWC) as “scaremongering”.

Cllr Huxtable, who was assigned to the post last month, said: “Reports that we are planning to implement fortnightly refuse collections in Birmingham are wholly inaccurate.

“Of course these are challenging times for the public sector and, just as my cabinet colleagues are looking at efficiencies, I am looking at ways to make efficiencies in transportation and street services.”

Birmingham is currently reviewing around 2,000 jobs as a means of reducing costs and stated that savings will be need to be found across a range of departments, with transport and street services – which encompasses waste and recycling – having to find a total of £12 million-a-year savings.

Refuse

Residents in Birmingham are currently issued a roll of 26 refuse sacks by the city council every six months, which is then collected on weekly basis, while residents of tower blocks and other multi-occupied homes may be issued with a large container instead of sacks.

Cllr Huxtable said that the city's recycling efforts, which saw it reach a 32% recycling rate in 2009/10, had helped cut residual waste arisings. He said: “An increase in recycling across the city has already resulted in a reduction in ordinary refuse and we're currently looking at options to make the service more efficient.”

And, Cllr Huxtable pointed to the fact that, while the council would not entertain the idea of introducing AWC, that waste and recycling services could cut its costs by re-assessing its collection rounds.

“Collection rounds are not currently aligned with ward boundaries and reorganising the rounds along these lines will result in efficiencies,” he said. “Similar changes to street cleansing services in recent years proved highly effective.”