Reinforcing its position on collection frequency for the first time since the general election, the Department for Communities and Local Government has reiterated that every household has a ‘basic right’ to have their black bag waste collected each week.
The department’s position echoes that of former Secretary of State Eric Pickles, who long championed taxpayers’ right to weekly refuse collections and repeatedly locked horns with local government and waste sector members over the issue (see letsrecycle.com story).
Mr Pickles’ collection frequency guidance – dubbed by many in the industry as the ‘Bin Bible’ – still appears to be the guiding force within the department, with DCLG referring letsrecycle.com to the document for a detailed understanding of its policy position.
A DCLG spokesperson said: “The government encourages councils to support the wishes of local people, many of whom believe every household in England has a basic right to have their rubbish taken away every week.
“The government continues to champion frequent and convenient bin collections which protect the environment and public health. We will also be working with local authorities to make recycling easier for people.
“This department also published ‘Guidance on weekly rubbish collections’ which showed that local authorities can make savings while not harming the quality of the service that local taxpayers receive.”
Councils
The position is likely to disconcert local authorities, some of which had hoped the appointment of Greg Clark following Mr Pickles’ departure from DCLG in May could prompt a moratorium on the weekly collections policy. At the time, commentators suggested Mr Clark was ‘very mollifying’ and ‘not in the same mould’ as Mr Pickles (see letsrecycle.com story).
Despite the launch of DCLG’s Weekly Waste Collection Fund to incentivise councils to retain or revert to weekly waste collections in 2012, the trend towards three-weekly refuse rounds continues to gain traction across the country as councils look to save on costs.
Bury, the first council in England to introduce three-weekly collections in October 2014, last week reported a 10% jump in its household recycling rate – which it attributes to the reduced refuse service (see letsrecycle.com story).
Other councils in England that have introduced or are considering the three-weekly service include Rochdale, East Staffordshire, East Devon and Somerset. In Scotland and Wales, Fife, Falkirk, Gwynedd and Powys have all taken part.
‘Confidence’
Commenting on the trend, LARAC chair Andrew Bird said: “People have seen the likes of Falkirk and one or two others and I think that has restored interest. They have been open in terms of what savings they have made. These are evidence-based examples giving people more confidence in looking to trial three-weekly collections.”
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