Melton borough council has decided to move to a fortnightly commingled recycling service and introduce a charge for green waste in a drive to save money.
Under its contract with waste management firm Biffa, the boroughs dry recycling is currently collected source-separated once a week and green waste is collected free of charge.
The Leicestershire council said its decision to change the service was solely due to cutbacks to its budget from central government and it acknowledged that the withdrawal of a free green waste collection service could ultimately have a knock-on effect on the boroughs recycling rate.
Raman Selvon, waste and environmental manager at the council, said: We had some discussions and what came out of that was we could find savings if we change around the way we do things. Switching from kerbside sort to commingled meant it would be possible to deliver that with fewer resources.
The commingled material will be collected in a 240 litre wheeled bin, meaning it can be collected fortnightly instead of weekly. The move will also allow residents to recycle a wider range of materials, including cartons and tetrapaks. The commingled material will be sent to Biffas material recycling facility (MRF) in Aldridge for sorting.
Currently paper and card are collected in a green box and metals, textiles, glass and plastic bottles in a grey or black box.
Green waste
The council expects to achieve the bulk of its savings by requiring residents to pay a yearly subscription of 32 to have their green waste collected through Biffas garden waste club. This means that it will no longer have to pay Biffa for the service as it will be funded by subscription fees.
However the introduction of this fee could see the boroughs overall recycling rate fall, depending on resident participation.
Mr Selvon said: It is highly likely that the recycling rate will drop. We dont think we will lose anything from the dry recycling it just depends on how customers engage with the green waste club. The free garden waste service has always been well used.
Since signing the contract with Biffa in 2002 the boroughs recycling rate has risen from 19% to 50% in 2010/11.
Service
As of April 2012 residual waste will continue to be collected fortnightly however dry recyclables will move from weekly to fortnightly collections. The 240 litre wheeled bin currently used for green waste will be used to collect the dry recyclables. Residents that sign up to Biffas green waste club will receive a new wheeled bin once they have subscribed.
Biffa signed the contract with Melton in 2000 and this was extended for a further seven years in 2010. Following a trial based on two wheeled bins, for residual and green waste, and a box system for dry recyclables, the current collection service was introduced in the borough in 2005.
The council does not operate a food waste collection at the moment however Mr Selvon said it would be bidding for funding from the Weekly Collection Support Scheme to introduce this (see letsrecycle.com story).
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