Councils in England will be able to collect recyclables, such as plastic, metal, glass, paper, and card, in one container as part of the Simpler Recycling reforms, Recycling Minister Robbie Moore has confirmed.
The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) today confirmed the next steps of the reforms, which aim to put an end to the ‘patchwork of different bin collections across England’.
As well as granting local authorities the flexibility to reduce the number of bins required by households, the reforms will also allow councils to co-collect food and garden waste and will see the same materials collected from homes, workplaces, and schools.
Recycling Minister Robbie Moore said: ‘We all want to do our bit to increase recycling and reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill – but a patchwork of different bin collections across England means it can be hard to know what your council will accept.
‘Our plans for Simpler Recycling will end that confusion: ensuring that the same set of materials will be collected regardless of where you live.’
Controversially, councils will also be expected to collect residual household waste at least fortnightly, alongside weekly food waste collections, to – in DEFRA’s words – ‘prevent smelly waste from building up outside homes.’
Cllr Darren Rodwell, environment spokesperson for the Local Government Association (LGA), welcomed the flexibility in how to collect waste from people’s homes.
However, he added ‘this flexibility should extend to frequency of collections in whatever way best supports communities to reduce waste and improve recycling.’
Lee Marshall, director of Innovation and Technical Services at the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management’s (CIWM), said: ‘Clarification on what materials can be collected together is good and gives local authorities the freedom to choose the most appropriate and effective collection systems for their areas.
‘The stance on restricting options of residual frequency is, however, baffling given the overwhelming evidence that exists about how restricting residual reduces costs and increases recycling. That is a point of contention and a missed opportunity to give local authorities a real behaviour change tool that is shown to increase recycling levels.’
