Every home in England will receive easier and more consistent
recycling collections, under new plans to boost recycling and
protect the environment, helping the country reach our target of
eliminating all avoidable waste by 2050.
Under proposals unveiled by ministers today (Friday 7 May), every
household will receive separate, weekly food waste collections
from 2023, which will stop the build-up of smelly waste that
attracts flies and pests.
Plans being considered include the introduction of statutory
guidance on new minimum service standards for rubbish and
recycling collections, subject to an assessment of affordability
and value for money. This could recommend a minimum service
standard of residual waste at least once a fortnight alongside
the weekly collection of organic waste. Councils would continue
to be supported to collect more frequently than the minimum
standard, which is especially important in urban areas, with less
space to place bins and homes that have small or no gardens.
Ministers are also considering free garden waste collections for
every home, which could save householders over £100 million a
year in green waste charges. Currently, councils have discretion
on whether to provide the service, which is usually charged for
on top of council tax.
Environment Secretary said:
Householders want more frequent recycling collections. Regular
food and garden waste collections will ensure that they can get
rid of their rubbish faster, at no additional cost to them.
Our proposals will boost recycling rates, and ensure that less
rubbish is condemned to landfill.
In the consultation, published today, the Government will also
set out plans to make recycling easier with a clear list of
materials that all local authorities and waste firms must collect
from homes and businesses, specifically plastic, paper and card,
glass, metal and food waste, as well as garden waste for
households. This means we will end the confusion for millions of
homes and businesses having different collections in different
areas, helping households recycle more and send less waste to
landfill.
Additional funding and support will be provided to councils for
their recycling collections, partly through our reform of the
packaging sector which will see firms covering the full net cost
of managing their packaging waste. This means council taxpayers
will not have to foot the bill, and in turn will be able to
reduce the amount of unnecessary packaging that is thrown away.
These proposals also build on steps that the Government has taken
to support families’ bin collections. Since 2010, ministers have
scrapped previous plans for new bin taxes on family homes;
stopped unfair bin fines for petty or minor breaches of complex
bin rules; supported rewards for recycling; and banned charges
for responsibly disposing of household rubbish at local dumps.
Our measures will help ensure that the Government meets its
ambition laid out in the Resources and Waste Strategy of
recycling at least 65% of municipal waste by 2035, with a maximum
of 10% being landfilled. Ministers are also committed to
eliminating all avoidable waste by 2050.
The proposals for consistent collections are part of the
Government’s wider programme of major waste reforms which will
boost recycling, step-up our war on plastic pollution and tackle
litter. In March, a second round of consultations were also
launched for Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging,
which will see packaging firms covering the full net cost of
managing their packaging waste, and a Deposit Return Scheme for
drinks containers, where consumers will be incentivised to return
and recycle their bottles and cans.
