A consultation document was delivered to every household in the Breckland, which includes the towns of Thetford and Dereham last week. This provided details of five different kerbside schemes which include a combination of green waste and different dry recyclable collections. The council has decided that a kerbside collection is need to meet government targets of 18% by 2003/4 and 27% by 2005/6, its current recycling rate is 4%.
Breckland believes that it is the first council to consult on specific options. Residents have been given a leaflet entitled: “Waste – Why we need to act now” which explains the different options for waste and recycling schemes, estimated costs for each scheme per year and per week and the pros and cons of each option are given to help residents to choose.
The cost of the current service is 30.21 a year or 58p per week, but following previous research, the council found that over 80% residents said they would pay up to 1 per week extra to find alternative disposal methods to landfill. All schemes will cater for residents living in flats or maisonettes by offering communal recycling points.
Diane Foster, executive member for environment and public services, said: “I hope every resident takes this opportunity to have their say on waste and recycling. Our future environment depends upon everyone doing their ‘bit’ and by filling in the questionnaire you will be helping shape the future of waste management in Breckland. Time is running out, we all need to act now on waste.”
Options
Option one sees household waste collected every two weeks with recyclables collected fortnightly. Household waste will be collected from a new smaller 180 litre bin and paper, card, plastics, cans will be collected in the existing 240 litre bin. Garden waste will not be collected. It is estimated that the cost per household will be 34.86 a year or an extra 9p per week on council tax.
The second option is more expensive because there will be a weekly collection of waste but this will use a new smaller 140 litre bin and there will also be a fortnightly collection for dry recyclables from the existing 240 litre bin. The cost is likely to be 44.64 per householder per year or an extra 28p per week.
For options one and two that do not provide a garden waste collection service, the council is looking at introducing an optional “Garden Waste Season Ticket”. This works on the principle that the user pays, with the cost being 27 per year or 1.50 per collection. Under the scheme, a fortnightly collection will take place between March and October and there will be two additional collections during the winter.
Option three will see a weekly household waste collection using a new smaller 180 litre bin and a fortnightly collection of garden waste from the existing 240 litre bin. This scheme would be supported by increasing the number of recycling banks. The cost is 41.94 a year or an extra 23p per week.
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