Brent’s £142 million waste and recycling collections contract with Veolia comes to an end next spring and the council is exploring making changes to the service.
Currently, Brent residents place all their cardboard, paper, plastic, cans and glass recycling into one blue-topped commingled bin, which is collected weekly.
The council has proposed giving residents a sack to separate fibre, including mixed paper, cardboard and newspapers, from containers such as plastic tubs and cans. Brent would then collect the two sets of materials on alternate weeks.
The council says the move would save money, improve the borough’s recycling rate and be in line with the government’s delayed guidance on consistency in household recycling in England.
Cllr Krupa Sheth, Brent’s cabinet member for environment, said these changes would mean the council could save money and keep running the services “that residents need the most”.
“This is so important after drastic funding cuts from the government since 2010,” Cllr Sheth said. “We all know that times are hard at the moment and difficult decisions have to be made to improve services in the present day, whilst also having a lasting impact for future generations.”
Savings
Earlier this month, Brent announced it needed to save £28 million by 2025 due to the “shock” of Brexit, the Covid-19 pandemic and more people asking the council for financial help as the prices of “basics” such as food and fuel rise.
Times are hard at the moment and difficult decisions have to be made to improve services in the present day
– Cllr Krupa Sheth, Brent’s cabinet member for environment
While demand for services is rising, the council says, the money Brent receives directly from central government has fallen. And, “to make matters worse”, the government will only confirm the money it plans to give local authorities for the next two years in December 2022, Brent says, “which makes it difficult for councils to plan”.
Brent claims collecting fibre and containers separately would cut costs because “it’s costly to dispose of general waste and we can sell recycling to providers”.
Carbon neutrality
The council says it must “think differently” about how it delivers waste and recycling services, but it wants any changes to contribute to making Brent a carbon neutral borough by 2030.
Cllr Shah said there was “evidence” from other councils that collecting fibre and containers separately increased recycling rates. “This is just one way of us improving in our fight against climate change,” she said.
Under the proposed changes, Brent would continue to collect residual waste fortnightly and food waste weekly.
The council says it is also looking at introducing a free, bookable small items collection service to make it easier to recycle textiles, small electrical items, batteries, coffee pods and paint.
Street cleansing
Brent’s consultation also explores moving to an “intelligence-led” approach to street cleaning. This would see teams deployed where they were “needed most”, supported by rapid response teams who were on call to clean areas when necessary.
The current approach focuses on deploying teams to different streets on a rota system, regardless of whether they need sweeping.
Brent
Representing an estimated population of more than 330,000, the London borough of Brent had a household waste recycling rate of 33.4% in the 2020/21 financial year.
Veolia has been responsible for carrying out waste collections in the borough since 1992. The waste management company renewed its contract with Brent for nine years in January 2014 (see letsrecycle.com story).
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