Rochford residents balloted over 3 and 6 recycling and waste options

The Essex council has a new waste collection contract with its existing contractor Serviceteam – now part of Cleanaway – starting in April and there is provision for kerbside collection in the contract.

Currently 1,500 households in the district have had dry recyclables collected under a separate arrangement by Cory since August 1999, a contract which finishes in March. This trial involves a 240 litre residual waste bin and a 120 litre bin for green and kitchen waste as well as a box for dry recyclables (excluding glass). Residual and green waste are collected on alternate weeks with the dry recyclables taken weekly.

Council officer Graham Woolhouse said that the trial has been very successful. “We have got the system up and running very well in these properties and have achieved a recycling rate of 40%.”

Now, the residents in the survey are being given two options. Both involve the collection of materials such as paper, cardboard, cans, plastic bottles and textiles in a box and green garden and kitchen waste in a wheeled bin. With the first option the residual waste would be collected fortnightly and the second weekly, at a greater cost.

The councils says that it would introduce the new scheme in stages of about 5,000 houses at a time. To do this would cost just over 3 a year for all residents for the option with fortnightly collection of residential waste, and just over 6 a year for the option with a weekly collection.

Mr Woolhouse said that if a collection service is eventually provided to all residents, the total cost to a band D council tax property across the district would be just under 20 or just under 33 each year for each household, depending on which of the two schemes is adopted. If residents did opt for the weekly collection of residuals, a smaller bin is likely to be allocated to help encourage waste minimisation and recycling.

Survey results are due next month with the ocuncil to make a decision shortly.

The capital costs of the project – the bins and boxes – would be met separately by the council.