Green waste charge to hit NE Lincs recycling rate

In a statement issued last week, the unitary authority explained that, owing to the cuts imposed by central government, residents wishing to use the fortnightly service which is currently free – would be charged 25 per household per year from April 2012.

While this is equivalent to just 50 pence per week, council minutes reveal that it expects only a fifth (11,000) of the 50,000 residents currently using the service to pay the charge and continue using it. As a result, the council estimates that overall recycling performance will initially drop by up to 7%.

In reaction, the Conservative and Liberal Democrat opposition within the council have called the decision in for scrutiny at a meeting to be held this Thursday (November 3).

A spokeswoman for the council explained: We wont know until after the meeting if the 25 charge will go ahead.

For its part, North East Lincolnshire explained that while none of its neighbours currently charged for green waste collections, over 90 councils across the country did in what has become a growing trend (see letsrecycle.com story).

And, it said that change would help it to save 314,000 in 2012/13 along, rising to 407,000 in 2014/15.

Discretionary

Councillor Chris Shaw, leader of North East Lincolnshire council, said: Councils are not obliged to collect garden waste; its a discretionary service.

Unfortunately, due to the pressures we are under from central government to make huge savings in our budget, we can no longer afford it for free. We will therefore pass on the minimum cost necessary and those households that dont want to use the service dont have to.

It will help us make 2.5 million of savings over four years. These savings would allow the council to provide 500 people with home care for a year.

Cllr Alex Wallace, portfolio holder for environment and strategic housing, added: It may encourage people to compost their garden waste at home and we would welcome this. We will be offering discounted composters to householders as an incentive.

Changes

The measure is among a package of waste service changes agreed by the councils cabinet last Monday (October 26) which also include:

• A charge for replacement bins (25) and recycling boxes (10 for a set) with exemptions applying to vulnerable households.
• Ensuring that all waste taken to the boroughs community recycling centres is pre-sorted to maximise recycling and ensure that more waste can be sent to the Stallingborough EfW plant.
• An increase in income from recyclable materials to be achieved by taking advantage of high commodity prices and longer term contracts with recycling companies.
• The introduction of a range of small-scale trials of, for example, kerbside plastics collection or commingled recycling collections.
• The frequency of garden waste collections to be reduced in winter from fortnightly to monthly

North East Lincolnshires household waste recycling rate was 33% in 2009/10, of which 15% was composting.

The councils kerbside service currently sees separate collections of paper (blue box), glass (green box) and cans (orange box) alongsidea free fortnightly garden waste collection service.