Redefining what good looks like
Impower’s annual top 10 list is a celebration of strong council performance, and as Jon Ainger explains, many local authorities have stepped up to the challenge.
Councils warn 'unclear' labelling is hindering recycling efforts
07/11/2019 Councils are calling for a series of new measures to help boost recycling rates. |
Welsh council trials microchipping bins to encourage recycling
24/10/2019 A Welsh county council is trialling the use of microchipping as part of an effort to encourage recycling as it moves to a four weekly collection. |
Recycling and refuse top public’s spending priority list
17/10/2019 Councils should spend more money on rubbish collection and recycling, according to the results of a new poll. |
Council angered by Hampshire CC’s decision to charge for contaminated recycling
03/10/2019 A local authority in Hampshire is seeking legal advice after the county council announced that it would bill local councils for contaminated recycling. |
Council cleared of exporting plastic waste to Malaysia
23/09/2019 Milton Keynes Council has been cleared of exporting plastic waste to Malaysia. |
Waste strategy places 'needless burden' on councils, MPs warn
05/09/2019 The waste strategy proposed by the Government has come under fire from MPs amid concerns about the burden it could impose upon local authorities. |
Sales of plastic bags drop 90% since fee was introduced
31/07/2019 Sales of single-use plastic bags have fallen by 90% since the introduction of the 5p charge in 2015, new figures have revealed. |
Councils urged to record data on procurement of single-use plastic bottles
07/06/2019 A third of councils are failing to record how many single-use plastic bottles they have procured over the last five years, according to new research. |
Over half of councils ‘experiencing issues’ with plastic markets
21/05/2019 More than 50% of councils have reported that they were ‘experiencing issues’ with plastic markets, new research has revealed. |
‘Smart bins’ and tax cuts could help increase recycling rates, report says
13/05/2019 Local authorities could use ‘smart bins’ and council tax cuts to help drive up recycling rates in their areas, a new study has recommended. |
Glastonbury arena to be made from recycled plastic
10/05/2019 An arena at Glastonbury Festival is to be built from waste plastic that has been recycled by Exeter City Council. |
Everything local government needs to know about coffee cup recycling
09/05/2019 With applications for The Cup Fund, the UK’s largest grant for projects that boost UK paper cup recycling, closing soon, Phil Wild shares what he thinks everyone should know. |
Celebrating 25 years of paint recycling
01/05/2019 Community RePaint network appeals for local authority support as it celebrates 25 years of paint recycling. Sarah Burns reports. |
Holyrood announces ambition to cut food waste by one third
25/04/2019 The Scottish government has unveiled plans to help reduce food waste by one third by 2025. |
Council pays £1.75m in compensation to recycling contractor
08/04/2019 Milton Keynes Council has reached a settlement with the contractor Viridor to cover what the local authority describes as the ‘historic costs’ of contamination in its recycling sacks. |
Council launches weekly recycling pilot for 1,500 homes
17/01/2019 A council in Lincolnshire has announced it will pilot weekly recycling collections at more than 1,500 homes in order to help households reduce their waste. |
Council issues smaller recycling boxes to prevent ‘bad backs’
10/01/2019 A Cumbrian council has decided to reduce the size of its recycling boxes in order to protect its staff from damaging their backs. |
Recycling services receive a £1bn boost
18/12/2018 Council chiefs have welcomed the Government’s new waste strategy, which aims to encourage businesses and manufacturers to use easily recyclable packaging. |
Council abandons controversial plan to drop kerbside plastic collection
28/11/2018 Swindon has abandoned controversial proposals to withdraw the kerbside collection of plastics and says it will carry out further ‘research’ into the issue. |
Nearly all Welsh councils hit recycling target
15/11/2018 The latest figures show 20 of the 22 councils in Wales have met or exceeded the statutory recycling target of 58% for 2017/18. |
Swindon’s plans to stop collecting plastic dubbed ‘regressive step’
09/11/2018 Swindon’s consultation on plans to withdraw the kerbside collection of plastics is a ‘regressive step’, says the environment minister. |
Recycling grants for councils protected in Wales
23/10/2018 Recycling grants to councils will not be cut and three councils will receive extra funding to improve collections, the Welsh Government has confirmed. |
Councils affected by China's waste ban
22/10/2018 A fifth of councils have been directly affected by China’s ban on imported waste over the past year, according to a new survey. |
Leeds behind UK’s ‘biggest push’ to trial on-street recycling facilities
09/10/2018 Leeds City Council has teamed up with environmentalists to pilot new on-the-go recycling facilities to help people recycle bottles and cups while they are in the city centre. |
Welsh council moves to monthly refuse collection service
25/09/2018 Welsh council has announced it will only collect refuse destined for landfill or incineration once a month in an effort to save money and encourage recycling. |
Charity calls for end of UK’s ‘barmy’ recycling system
25/09/2018 Every household in the country should be able to recycle the same items under a new national system, according to calls from Keep Britain Tidy. |
Third of household plastics ‘unrecyclable’, councils say
06/08/2018 Local authorities are calling on manufacturers to stop using unrecyclable packaging as research suggests that it is only possible to recycle a third of the plastic used by households. |
Recycling rates could be boosted by fraud, says auditors
23/07/2018 The UK’s success at recycling may be being boosted by fraudulent exports of unrecyclable materials, auditors have claimed. |
Council use of incinerators ‘doubles’ since 2010
16/07/2018 The amount of waste managed by local authorities and sent to incinerators has doubled in less than a decade, a new report reveals. |
Councils must change collection services to meet EU recycling target
25/05/2018 Most councils will be able to meet the EU's recycling target at no extra cost, according to waste management experts. |
Third of households support pay-as-you-throw, survey reveals
18/04/2018 A new survey has revealed that one in three households support councils charging households for disposing of any waste and packaging they don’t recycle. |
Recycling scheme to tackle plastic bottle waste
28/03/2018 Environment secretary Michael Gove today announced a new deposit return scheme to increase recycling rates and reduce waste. |
Manchester bids to become UK’s first ‘Tidy City’
15/03/2018 Manchester City Council has signed a formal partnership with Keep Britain Tidy in a bid to become the UK’s first ‘Tidy City’ by 2020. |
Council to introduce four-weekly bin collection
24/01/2018 Conwy Council is phasing in four-weekly black bin collections following a successful trial which saved the equivalent of 87 double decker buses from landfill. |
MPs call for ‘latte levy’ to improve recycling facilities
05/01/2018 A 25p levy should be applied to all disposable coffee cups and a target set to recycle all cups by 2023, MPs have said today. |
Council leaders welcome plastic bottle return scheme
22/12/2017 Council chiefs have welcomed a call from MPs to introduce a deposit return scheme for plastic bottles — but urge Whitehall to ensure it is fully funded. |
Research challenges countries' recycling rates
11/12/2017 Wales has been knocked of the number two spot in a worldwide table of countries' recycling policies - but is still far ahead of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. |
Tri-weekly bin collections boosts Anglesey's recycling rates
08/11/2017 The introduction of tri-weekly waste collections has helped increase recycling rates by 10% in the past year in the Isle of Anglesey, new figures reveal. |
Millennials ‘apathetic’ about recycling, survey reveals
07/11/2017 The generation born during or after the 1980s is the least likely age group to recycle, surprising new poll reveals. |
Deposit refund systems could save councils £35m a year
11/10/2017 Local authorities across England could save up to £35m every year if a deposit refund system (DRS) for drinks containers was introduced, environmental charity says. |
Plans for plastic bottle return scheme unveiled
03/10/2017 The Government has asked for views on introducing a reward and return scheme for drinks containers in England. |
Energy-from-waste putting pressure on recycling rates, claims report
08/08/2017 A surge in the number of energy-from-waste and incinerator plants being built in the UK could limit recycling rates, according to a new report. |
Bristol named ‘green capital’ of the UK
02/06/2017 Bristol has been named the greenest city in the UK as part of research into the country’s most environmentally friendly cities. |
Plastic bottle waste 'out of control' in London
13/04/2017 The amount of waste from plastic bottles is ‘out of control’ in London, the assembly environment committee has warned today. |
‘Hard-pressed’ councils not to blame for recycling confusion
09/01/2017 Councils are burdened with a ‘disproportionate share’ of the responsibility for waste and recycling, and companies should do more to improve packaging, environmentalists say. |
Recycling rates fall for first time
16/12/2016 Recycling rates in the UK have decreased for the first time since records began, figures have revealed. |
First National Recycling Guidelines unveiled
12/10/2016 A definitive list of what can and cannot be collected for recycling has been published to help dispel some of the confusion surrounding kerbside collections. |
Giant coffee cup bins descend upon Manchester
12/10/2016 Giant coffee cups are coming to Manchester city centre today as part of a campaign to help recycle 20,000 cups. |
Over a third of population confused by council recycling information
12/09/2016 Confusing information has resulted in nearly three in 10 people not recycling as much as they would like, according to new research. |
Recycling in Wales reaches record high
25/08/2016 Recycling in Wales has reached its highest ever recorded level and has exceeded its statutory target. |
Data shows councils reject 84% more recyclable waste
23/08/2016 The amount of rubbish rejected for recycling by councils in England has increased by 84% over the past four years, a new investigation has revealed. |
Bristol opts for integrated waste service
15/08/2016 Bristol City Council has approved plans for all its waste services to be delivered by one council-owned company. |
Council consults on smaller bins or collections every three weeks
03/08/2016 Local residents have hit out at Wirral Council after being asked to choose from having smaller bins or less frequent waste collections. |
Scottish councils take the recycling pledge
26/07/2016 Half of all the councils in Scotland have signed up to a Scottish Government-backed charter to make household recycling easier. |
Non-recyclable coffee cups cost millions to dispose of, LGA says
22/07/2016 High street coffee chains must go ‘further and faster’ in developing recyclable cups, councils say. |
Recycling rewards without rewards schemes
22/07/2016 Recycling communications are the key to local authorities achieving higher recycling rates – and it can be achieved on a budget, says Rick Hindley. |
Recycling depot closed after council staff taken ill
18/07/2016 Recycling collectors in Devon were taken ill after being exposed to gases produced by unwashed plastic bottles. |
Charity calls for English councils to be set new recycling targets
03/06/2016 Councils in England should be set the ambitious target of recycling 70% of all waste collected by 2025 in order to keep pace with Welsh councils, an environmental charity has said. |
Recycling experts defend efficiency of council waste collections
27/05/2016 Council recycling experts have rejected recent reports suggesting changes to the way waste is collected. |
Energy-from-waste treatment ‘dramatically’ reduces landfill waste
14/03/2016 South Tyneside has ‘dramatically’ reduced the amount of waste it sends to landfill from 66% to only 3%. |
Councils forced to incinerate and bury tons of recycling
18/01/2016 Councils are burning and burying tons of carefully sorted recycling, and this practice has nearly doubled in the last three years, according to the results of a freedom of information request. |
Authorities exceeding recycling expectations, but more must be done, says union
14/01/2016 73 councils in England already meet or exceed the EU recycling rate target of 50% of household waste by 2020, but more investment is needed if this progress is to continue, according to GMB. |
This issue of Local Government News explores how councils can tackle modern slavery and trafficking in their supply chains, finds out more about Cambridge's first cohousing scheme and the launch of a new project to build a shared service pattern library for local government.
This issue also contains a special focus on children's services and how councils are protecting children following local safeguarding children boards being abolished.
