Labour minister speaks in favour of DRS
The Labour Party’s environment secretary, Steve Reed, has said he is in favour of a deposit return scheme (DRS) but said he would need to thrash out the details of the scheme before committing the party to the policy.
Speaking during a UK Onward show earlier this week when asked his views on a DRS, Mr Reed said: “I am in favour of that. When I was a kid, I used to go around collecting bottles and keep the money to go to the local cubs and scouts groups, that was a great thing.
“Instinctively I’m in favour of that, but I need to look at working with industry to work out exactly how we can make that work. It seems cray not to make it worth. We need to reuse and recycle as much as we can.”
Aberdeenshire council names probable cause of Westhill fire
Aberdeen council has reported that the potential cause of the fire at Westhill recycling centre on 22 September was gas cylinder and electricals that had been incorrectly disposed of in a general waste skip.
Chair of the council’s infrastructure services committee councillor Alan Turner said: “Gas cylinders, vapes, and batteries should never be placed in general waste. Recycling centres are fantastic facilities, accessible for free across Aberdeenshire that help everyone to ensure that valuable raw materials are recovered that would otherwise go to waste.
“However, when using these facilities, there is a responsibility for everyone to appropriately separate their recycling before their visit in a way that does not cause risk of harm to the recycling centres or the hard-working staff that provide such a valuable service.”
South Gloucester launches consultation
South Gloucester council launched a consultation on Monday (9 October) asking residents for their opinions on the proposed changes to the areas recycling and waste collection services.
The council’s new plans include implementing a weekly collection service for flexible plastics recycling to be extended to all households with a kerbside collection over the next three years.
Additionally, the council will evaluate the frequency of collecting black bins for non-recyclable waste, exploring the possibility of transitioning to 3 or 4-week collection intervals.
The council aims to use the results of this consultation to streamline recycling efforts, diminish the carbon footprint associated with waste management in South Gloucestershire, and lower the expenses related to waste services.
The South Gloucestershire council cabinet member with responsibility for waste and recycling services, Councillor Leigh Ingham said: “We want to make it easier for people to recycle more. And we want to reduce the cost of the service, financially and on the environment.
“We want to hear from local people now so that we can make sure that any changes we make to the service work for them. We recognise we have more work to do to design our services for the future and we want to hear from residents through this consultation.
“People in South Gloucestershire have shown that they are keen to recycle as much as they can and with the right changes, we can help them do that.”
Taunton recycling site to remain close after fire
Somerset council reports that its household waste and recycling centre (HWRC) in Taunton will remain closed after a fire at Biffa’s nearby plastics recycling site.
The council reported parts of the site remained on fire as of 6 October and currently the cause is unknown (see letsrecycle.com story).
Residents are asked to hold on to their recycling if it can wait, put it in their kerbside recycling if it is the right kind of material or try one of the council’s other 15 sites if it is waste that urgently needs to go while the site remains closed.
Councillor Dixie Darch, Somerset council’s lead member for climate, and the environment, said: “The building is badly damaged and until the site is made safe for the public, we just cannot reopen it.
“We apologise for the disruption but hope people can understand the reason for it and make use of alternative sites if they have waste that just cannot wait.”
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