Double standards may see some miss out on fund

On Friday (February 3), Communities Secretary Eric Pickles unveiled details of the scheme and which sort of weekly collections it would support (see letsrecycle.com story).

The aim of the fund is to support local authorities to:

1. Introduce, retain or reinstate a weekly collection of residual household waste. In addition, these collections must be supplemented by a separate recyclables collection at least once a fortnight; or
2. Propose improvements to an existing waste service which is already centred around a weekly residual collection, for example by improving environmental performance, increasing the affordability or sustainability of that service; or
3. Add a weekly food waste (or organic waste) service to an existing fortnightly collection of residual household waste, where an authority can credibly demonstrate that this represents the preference of local people. This additional service will reduce the amount of biodegradable waste sent to landfill, and reduce the amount of biodegradable food waste that has to be stored in or around the home.

However, while the support for weekly food waste collections has won widespread support,councils have voiced concerns thatonly those local authorities which already collect residual waste fortnightly will qualify, rather than those which are currently making or planning the switch.

Chairman of the Local Government Association (LGA)s Environment Board, Councillor Clyde Loakes, said: The decision ultimately comes down to local choice, and we are pleased councils calls for the flexibility to spend this money on weekly collections of food and organic waste has been listened to.

It is disappointing, however, that households in some areas will miss out because government have excluded those councils currently in the process of switching to alternate weekly collections. This sets a double standard which arbitrarily penalises local authorities reviewing their waste collection arrangements this year, while offering money to those who have already made the switch.

Bin blight

Some also said they were unconvinced by Mr Pickles claim that weekly residual waste collections would tackle bin blight.

Chris Murphy, deputy chief executive at the Chartered Institute of Waste Management, said: A number of claims made for the new fund are open to question, including the assertion that it will help to tackle bin blight and the ‘proliferation of bins’.

Frequency has little impact on the number of bins allocated to a household compared to the overall design of the collection service and subsequent treatment options, most of which are, and should remain, focused on recovering valuable materials from our waste and reducing the amount of residual waste that is sent to landfill.

However, the scheme won support for many of its other features.

ESA

Matthew Farrow, director of policy at the Environmental Services Association which represents waste management companies said: Waste management companies want to collect and manage waste in ways which are both user-friendly for the householder and benefit the environment. So we welcome the way in which the fund prioritises environmental criteria and regular collections that meet the needs of householders.

We also support the encouragement given to local authorities to think innovatively and to work with the private sector. We look forward to working with their local authority customers to help them make best use of the opportunities the fund provides.

Food waste

The fact that the fund will support weekly food and organic waste collections has been welcomed across the board, with particular praise being given by organics recyclers and anaerobic digestion technology firms.

Jeremy Jacobs, managing director of the Association for Organics Recycling, told letsrecycle.com: As far as we are concerned the issue if all about the food waste being collected weekly. Encouraging people to do weekly food waste collections can only be good news as it will cut waste going to into the residual bin and then on to landfill.

However Mr Jacobs said he remained concerned that encouraging weekly residual waste collections could cause councils to spend unnecessarily.

He said: Going back to weekly residual waste collections is a retrograde step. The important thing is to ensure local authorities under huge financial pressure arent spending money unnecessarily.

This view is shared by Friends of the Earth which stated that not only could the move cost councils money but it could also reduce recycling rates.

Julian Kirby, Waste Campaigner for Friends of the Earth said: At last Eric Pickles has seen sense – despite all the spin, this scheme offers councils cash to introduce weekly food waste collections, even if they keep fortnightly black bag bin rounds.

Collecting all our rubbish every week would cost cash-strapped councils hundreds of millions of pounds and reduce recycling rates. Weekly food waste collections will help tackle fears over hygiene and boost the huge potential for generating energy from waste.