The Royal Borough of Greenwich is reducing the number of general waste collections it offers as part of the effort to cut carbon emissions and increase the rate of recycling.

The local authority yesterday announced that from February 2023 it will collect general waste every two weeks while leaving recycling and food waste collections on its current weekly cycle.

The aim behind the change is to reduce emissions from refuse collection vehicles and to encourage residents to recycle more.

Cllr Averil Lekau, deputy leader of the council and cabinet member for Climate Change, Environment and Transport, said: ‘Fortnightly general waste collections will be a huge step towards tackling climate change and making Royal Greenwich an environmentally friendly borough.

‘Recycling will still be collected weekly, so by recycling more of our waste, the change will have a much smaller effect on each of us as well. Ultimately, these changes will help shape a greener future for our residents and generations to come and help us move towards becoming a zero waste borough.’

The transition comes after a six-week consultation in 2020 which confirmed that the majority of residents understood the need for the proposed changes, the council said.

Decreasing the amount of general waste generated by the borough will also support the Mayor of London’s Environment Strategy target to reach a London-wide recycling rate of 50% by 2025.

Leader of the council, Cllr Anthony Okereke, said: ‘We are facing a climate emergency and by making this change, we can all play a part in shaping a greener future. We know that the majority of residents are in favour of this positive change. Improving our recycling habits means less waste is incinerated and less waste collections need to be made by our crews – lowering our vehicle emissions too.

‘We’ll be supporting our residents in the run up to the changes to ensure the transition is as smooth as possible. If anyone is unsure of what can and can’t be recycled, up to date information is available on our website. Together we can make Royal Greenwich a greener and cleaner borough.’

This article was originally published by LAPV.