London Borough Of Bexley has decided against switching to three-weekly waste collections.
The Cabinet considered the feedback local people gave to a consultation on a range of recycling issues.
It said people “strongly opposed” the three-weekly proposal but has recommended changes that will make it possible to switch from recycling boxes to wheelie bins, which it says most residents said they would prefer.
Faced with the need to make significant savings to balance the Council’s budget, the Cabinet approved a scaled down proposal involving two-weekly recycling collections on alternate weeks.
As well as saving money, the change should lead to an increase in the amount of waste that people recycle, something which many people who responded to the survey supported, the council says.
“We’ve considered their feedback carefully and feel what we are proposing is financially sustainable, gives people the wheelie bins they want and an increase in the amount of waste we are recycling.”
Councillor Peter Craske, the Council’s Cabinet Member for Places said: “I want to thank local people for their feedback and for helping us to shape the service for the next decade. We’ve been the highest recyclers in London for 14 years and this has only been possible thanks to the support of local people.
“We’ve considered their feedback carefully and feel what we are proposing is financially sustainable, gives people the wheelie bins they want and an increase in the amount of waste we are recycling.
“It’s important to remember that our success at recycling saves Bexley’s Council taxpayers around £3.6m a year, compared to the alternative costs of collection and incineration. The changes we’re recommending will also reduce the cost of the service by £450,000 a year. This will help to support other important local services.”
Changes include:
- Residual waste (green bin) collections will continue to be collected fortnightly.
- Households will receive two wheelie bins to replace the three boxes they currently have for recycling: a blue-lidded wheelie bin for paper/cardboard recycling and a white-lidded wheelie bin for mixed recycling. They will be collected fortnightly on alternate weeks.
The Cabinet also recommended that the Council’s current street services contract with Serco is extended by 18 months. Switching to another contractor would make it difficult to make the services changes that are proposed.
Weekly food recycling collections will continue and the proposals will not affect people living in flats.
Its decision is subject to approval by the full Council meeting on 6 March. If agreed, it will introduce the changes from this summer.
