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This week we launched our seven-week consultation on proposals to switch to three-weekly collections of non-recyclable (black bin) rubbish, in a bid to reduce waste, boost recycling rates and cut costs.
This year we’ll need to spend about £5m disposing of black bin rubbish but a waste analysis found that almost half (45 per cent) of black bin content could have been recycled instead.
If it had, this would have generated an income for us to help pay for vital local services.
Treating and disposing of black bin rubbish costs you as council tax payers about £130 per tonne.
However, our weekly separated kerbside recycling collections result in a high quality of recycling material which can be sold to generate an income of about £30 per tonne.
These proposals will save council tax payers’ money, as well as helping to protect our environment, and help us towards our goal of reaching a recycling rate of 70 per cent by 2030, as outlined in our recycling and waste strategy.
We know many people are enthusiastic about recycling and don’t fill their black bin all the way to the top, so they could adapt to a three-weekly bin collection.
However, we also understand three-weekly black bin collections may not work for some households.
We need everyone’s feedback to help us understand how these proposals might work, particularly around any concerns about storing and dealing with waste between collections.
We also want to understand how people currently recycle and how the service could improve, such as introducing soft plastics collections.
The consultation is open until midday on Tuesday 7 May.
Paper copies are available at libraries across North Somerset.
In-person information events will also be held at various locations across North Somerset throughout April.
Keep an eye on our website for details.