And, the council said the “ongoing demand for containers and the financial impact of this demand” has led to a review of how the service is financed.
According to a cabinet report discussed at a meeting yesterday (13 October) the distribution of extra containers is costing the council a “considerable amount” each year, reported to be £413,360 in 2020/21.
The council uses a twin stream method of recycling collection, meaning recyclables are placed in separate containers and collected at the kerbside by Ubico.
It currently provides each household with one recycling box for glass bottles and jars, a blue lidded 240 litre bin for all other dry recyclables, and two food waste containers free of charge.
Residents are able to request additional containers if their household is regularly producing more recycling than these containers will hold.
Misuse
Currently the council says it has a recycling rate of 61%, and is “keen” to continue providing the necessary containers so that it can maintain and improve the rate.
However, the report states that whilst some requests are genuine, extra recycling boxes and kitchen caddies have been used for other purposes, such as removal boxes, garden tool boxes and outdoor toy boxes. There is also evidence that a “substantial number” of recycling boxes are used at allotments.
The reports states: “The ongoing demand for containers and the financial impact of this demand has led officers to review how the council manages and finances the container service, so that councillors can make informed decisions to manage demand and promote awareness of the costs of the service.
“In 2020/21, the council received requests for and delivered/issued over 24,891 containers. Residents are usually able to collect smaller containers from the Town Centre Shop in Witney and a small proportion of customers do take up that option, but this was closed for a large proportion of 2020/21 due to the Coronavirus pandemic lockdowns, so none were issued.”
The council also fears that the delivery of containers increases CO2 emissions.
Financial implications
In order to provide the containers and retain sufficient stock levels, the council spent £214,804 on purchases in 2020/21. In addition, Ubico’s costs of providing container deliveries were £198,556 in 2020/21.
Overall, this totals to £413,360 spent on container purchasing and deliveries in 2020/21.
The council calculated that the additional income derived from charging for cotnaienrs would contribute about 40% to offsetting the costs of the Ubico container delivery service.
Environment Bill
The council noted that with required changes coming up in 2024 due to the Environment Bill, there may be issues if the council made changes to the collection service, therefore it was recommended that it focused only on container delivery.
Charges
The charges for delivery of replacement containers are proposed to be: kitchen caddy for food waste, £5; recycling box and lid, £5; blue recycling bin, £10; garden waste bin, £10; 240 litre refuse bin, £10; and 360/660/1100 litre refuse bin, £20.
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