The proposals were approved at an executive meeting yesterday subject to “call-in”, meaning councillors may intervene if they feel the decision needs revisiting.
Plans will come into fruition on the 3 June, if no call-ins have been made.
Plans
Under the plans, landlords of properties using communal recycling bins will face a charge of £47.14 if the bins are found to be contaminated (see letsrecycle.com story).
Recycling bins that are contaminated with unrecyclable materials would remain uncollected until the charge is paid.
Alternatively, landlords will be asked by the council to remove the contaminating material themselves.
‘Extremely positive’
At the meeting yesterday, Islington council’s executive member for environment and transport, Cllr Rowena Champion said: “There is an extremely positive reason for introducing a charge. Contamination of waste in communal bins is a real problem for the council.
“We think that by working positively with landlords we will be able to address any problems that are identified, and it will be of real benefit to them and the environment.”
Costs
The plans are being brought in because currently, recycling bins contaminated with non-recyclable materials are emptied for free at a cost to the council.
Sending out separate crews to empty the bins costs the council £41.91 per hour, plus a collection cost of £5.22.
It is anticipated that the total charge the landlords of £47.14 will offset the additional cost of collection.
The charge could potentially generate around £70,710 for the council annually, however added that the charge is also expected to drive levels of contamination down which would reduce the revenue benefit over time.
The charges come as part of the councils Waste Reduction and Recycling plan, which sets out a series of ways to tackle recycling contamination.
Islington council serves around 236,000 residents and recorded a 29.6% recycling rate in 2019/20, Defra figures show.
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