Under the proposed measure – from 1 June 2017, side waste, referring to additional material which does not fit in black residual containers, will not be collected. Instead, the black bin will be emptied and the side waste placed back inside until the following collection.
Additionally, from 1 September 2017, any side waste material presented for collection will be subject to enforcement action whereby in the first instance, a fixed penalty notice will be issued. If the FPN is ignored, action will then be taken under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
Currently, side waste is still collected to reduce littering. However, those who continually present excess side waste will be subject to a formal notification process and if they persistent, may result in action under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
The council states that all non-recyclable waste must be contained in the residual bin and any material additional to this will be classed as side waste.
Options
If the introduction of fixed penalty notices is not successful in improving recycling rates, options also to be considered include the potential for the introduction of three-weekly collection to improve recycling.
Although it claims, only when targets are not reached will ‘a move to three weekly collections need to be reconsidered’.
The current recycling service was launched in 2012 including a weekly collection of recyclable material and food waste, along with a fortnightly collection of a 180-litre general domestic waste container and 140-litre green/garden waste container between March and November.
It is expected that changes to side waste collection will ‘improve recycling levels through greater participation levels’.
According to the report: “The majority of residents in Flintshire have embraced the current recycling service since its launch in 2012 and most residents now recycle most, if not all of their recyclable waste.
“The majority of residents in Flintshire have embraced the current recycling service since its launch in 2012…”
Flintshire council
“There remains, however, a minority of residents who do not participate fully with the system and some cases do not recycle their waste at all.
“This is clearly unfair on the residents and there has to be a way of ensuring that everyone contributes to our efforts to achieve the targets and avoid the fines that will result if we fail.”
The meeting is scheduled for next Tuesday (19 April) to finalise details of the plan.
Review
Current recycling figures for 2015/16 indicate Flintshire is achieving an overall recycling rate of 58%, meeting Wales’ challenging recycling target of 58% recycling by 2016, increasing to 70% by 2025, as well as an ultimate target to send zero waste to landfill by 2050.
Additionally, the council’s waste service is currently under review by the Welsh Government with early indications that the number of Household recycling centre (HRC) sites is ‘greater than necessary’.
Around 30% of the total domestic waste currently produced in Flintshire is deposited at the sites – which achieve an average recycling rate of 70% due to limited facilities and space.
The Welsh Government found the ‘facilities offered at each site do not match the minimum requirements for the high quality sites’ – which achieved higher levels of recycling elsewhere in the country.
Register for free to comment