A survey of residents in the south west London borough – taken as part of a consultation that ended last week – found that 72% supported a move to make recycling mandatory.
” I would like our council to become an exemplar throughout the UK “
– Cllr Martin Elengorn
But, only 40% were in favour of switching weekly collections of non-recyclable waste to a fortnightly cycle.
Some 1,300 residents gave their views as part of the consultation, which was undertaken to “review, improve and streamline” collection services prior to an expected renewing of Richmond's collection vehicle fleet.
The results of the survey and the consultation will now be considered over the next few months. New plans for waste collection – which could affect the next 10 years of services – are set to be discussed by councillors later this autumn.
Despite the widespread support for compulsory recycling, the council was unwilling to comment on the possibility of introducing such a scheme, which has already been adopted by five other London boroughs (see letsrecycle.com story).
A spokesman for the council told letsrecycle.com: “We are undertaking a thorough review into waste and recycling services and listening carefully to residents' views. The matter is due to come before the council's cabinet for a decision in November.”
As well as the frequency of collections, the consultation and questionnaire discussed the containers provided for residents and a possible expansion of the range of materials collected for recycling. Richmond is considering introducing plastic bottle and cardboard collections on top of the existing weekly bag-and-box scheme, which collects paper, cans and glass packaging, and the weekly food waste collection scheme.
Richmond is already one of the best councils for recycling in London – its recycling rate is currently about 33%.
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Councillor Martin Elengorn, cabinet member for Environment, said: “I would like our council to become an exemplar throughout the UK but we can only achieve this with the support of our residents. These latest results indicate that we have this support and that is very encouraging.
“At present all options remain open,” he added.
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