The Local Government Association has called for answers over exactly how funding from the governments 250 million weekly waste collection fund can be spent.
In the wake of Fridays announcement of the fund by communities secretary Eric Pickles (see letsrecycle.com story), the body welcomed the financial support for councils to either retain or return to weekly waste collections.
But, it stressed the importance of councils being left to decide which collection system was best for their local area, so they could reflect local priorities and claimed there is no one-size-fits-all solution to waste collection.
And, in a briefing note on the fund, which will be known as the Weekly Collections Support Scheme, it said more clarity was needed over how the fund would be allocated and what aspects of a waste service would be eligible for support from the funding.
In particular, the Local Government Association (LGA) said it wanted to know whether the money could also be used for increasing the frequency of recycling collections, boosting recycling rates and reducing the cost of landfill tax on local taxpayers further.
It also called for certainty over whether the fund could be used for weekly food waste collection. In the immediate aftermath of last weeks announcement, hopes were raised by industry figures that this might be the case (see letsrecycle.com story).
The LGA also highlighted the potential costs to councils of re-negotiating waste contracts if they move from fortnightly back to weekly collections and as such said it needed to know what scenarios and costs will and wont be deemed acceptable for bid funding.
With the fund expected to last for the current spending review period until March 2015 the LGA said certainty was needed over whether further ring-fenced funding would be made available to councils specifically for waste collections after that point.
And, it asked whether funding would also be made available for councils which already have a locally appropriate alternate weekly collection (AWC) system, which residents were happy with.
AWC
According to the LGA, of the 348 waste collection authorities in England and Wales, 195 operate AWC – where recycling is collected one week and residual waste the next – or fortnightly collections of residual waste.
In total, 153 councils operate a weekly collection of residual waste, although the LGA highlighted the fact that nine of Englands top 10 performing councils for recycling operate an AWC service, with the other offering fortnightly residual waste collection with weekly food collection. This was revealed by letsrecycle.com in August 2011 (see letsrecycle.com story).
The LGA stressed that, with 84% of householders satisfied with their waste collection service, the frequency question was just one part of the waste story, as recycling rates had increased significantly in the past decade. It said this had diverted waste from landfill, saved householders money and reduced the environmental impact of waste.
This was highlighted by the LGA chairman, councillor Merrick Cockell, who said: Local authorities will fund the new money useful if financial considerations were holding them back from operating a weekly collection.
As government has recognised by giving councils an option, the decision ultimately comes down to local choice. People want reliable efficient bin collection which makes it easy to recycle. That can be achieved in different ways and councils have to find a system that works well for residents in their area.
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We know this local approach works because it is the most popular service provided by councils, with 84% of residents saying they are satisfied with their bin collection.
The LGA noted that additional technical guidance on the new fund was expected from the Department for communities and local government shortly.
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