Wycombe district council currently recycles 16% of its household waste through fortnightly paper collections, a level 8% less than the 2002/03 average for the county.
The council is reviewing proposals for the service, which would begin in July for households in the Bourne End area for a trial period, before being expanded across the district if successful.
Although the new service will not begin in time to impact on the council's 20% recycling target for 2003/04, hopes are the new service will help Wycombe reach its 30% target by 2005/06.
A council survey found that on average, 32% of household waste currently collected in the district could be recycled in such a scheme. The survey also found that 70% of residents would support separate collections for green waste.
Councillor Audrey Jones, Cabinet Member for the Environment, said:
“It is extremely important that we work to improve the current figures on recycling throughout the district. Listening to our residents has shown us that there is support for green waste collections, we hope that by making recycling more convenient our residents will take advantage of this opportunity to help the environment.”
If given the go ahead, the trial would see residents being given an extra wheeled bin for green waste and kitchen waste. Refuse collections would run every alternate week to the green waste collections, carried out by council waste contractors Onyx. Green waste and kitchen waste collected in the new service would go to a new composting plant under construction at High Heavens in Booker.
Improving the current figures for plastic recycling is also to be addressed with ten new plastic recycling banks being introduced throughout the district.
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