At the meeting, council members will be asked to agree to consult on a range of measures designed to help the council meet its Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme targets. It will also be reviewing the first five years of its current contract with waste management company SITA.
A number of proposals have been suggested in the review including the replacement of a civic amenity site at Stoke Gifford.
” We must look to the future and ensure that we meet the new European directives on waste and protect the environment as best we can “
– Councillor Shirley Potts, South Gloucestershire council
Also proposed is an increase in capacity at the council's In-Vessel composting facility. The original plans for the facility suggested that 20,000 tonnes would be enough. But South Gloucestershire has said that the success of its green waste scheme means that 30,000 tonnes is now needed.
Other proposals include charging households 15 if they require more than one bulky collection a year, an education scheme for residents, the introduction of plastic bottles to kerbside schemes and long term plans to reduce the amount of biodegradable waste going to landfill.
The long term suggestions for reducing biodegradable waste include the possible collection of green waste or food waste on a weekly basis. SITA has said that if the collections of green and food waste were made fortnightly half of the food waste produced by households would still be sent to landfill.
Councillor Shirley Potts, executive member for communities, said: “Each year we are being asked to reach ever-higher targets and we cannot ignore the fact that failure to do so could cost the council millions of pounds in fines.
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“We must look to the future and ensure that we meet the new European directives on waste and protect the environment as best we can. That will mean finding new ways of collecting more recyclable and biodegradable waste, and making sure as little waste as possible goes to landfill,” she added.
The cabinet will be asked to agree a consultation process on the proposals set out in the report, to take place before January 2006.
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