Eco-Worrier on the bin wars

Councils that collect rubbish once every two weeks have higher recycling rates and make people think about how much waste they produce, local government officials said today.

Reacting to claims that fortnightly collections can lead to rat and maggot problems and fears that rubbish on street corners will turn foul in the heat of the summer, the Local Government Association said that councils that perform "alternate weekly" collections recycle more than their counterparts that pick up rubbish every week.

But their argument was rejected by campaigners, who said that the rate of rubbish collection had little to do with recycling. The Daily Mail reported today that outrage at alternate weekly rubbish collection had led to 12 out of 144 councils that use the scheme to reinstate traditional, weekly collections and launched a "Great Bin Revolt" to put pressure on more councils to do the same.

Using figures compiled by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs last December, the LGA said that local authorities that collect waste every fortnight recycle an average of 30 per cent of household waste, compared to 23 per cent for councils that pick up the bins every week.

According to the LGA, the ten councils with the highest recycling rates in the country have adopted alternate weekly collections, while eight out of the ten most improved councils have also adopted the system.

Sandy Bruce Lockhart, the chairman of the LGA, said that local authorities were reacting to the squeeze of EU legislation and rising costs of landfill tax, which increased from £3 to £24 per ton in the Budget and is expected to rise by £8 per year for the next three years. He said that councils using the fortnightly system were forecast to save £22 million in landfill taxes which would otherwise be passed on to residents.

“Britain is the dustbin of Europe with more rubbish being thrown into landfill than any other country on the continent," he said. "For decades people have been used to being able to throw their rubbish away without worrying about environmental consequences or rising costs. Those days are now over."

“Councils are listening to local residents and taking action over their concerns about protecting the environment and helping tackle climate change. The move by some to alternate weekly bin collections is aimed at working with residents to reduce waste, increase recycling and slowing the rising costs from EU legislation and higher landfill tax."

Mr Lockhart, who claimed that Britain's landfill sites were forecast to be full in nine years, found support today from Nick Smedley, the head of works for Rushcliffe council, which has the country's second highest recycling rate, of 49.9 per cent, and has used a fortnightly collection routine with separate bins for kitchen waste, compost and recyclables since 2002.

Mr Smedley said that fears of maggot and fly problems in Rushcliffe, the constituency of the Conservative MP, Kenneth Clarke, had largely been allayed by encouraging residents to wrap their kitchen waste in newspaper and plastic bags.

"If flies haven't got access to the food waste, there's no maggots," he said, adding that alternate weekly collections had forced residents to change their attitudes towards what they throw out.

"As a country, we still don't care," he said. "As soon as the waste goes out their house, residents almost deny responsibility for it. They think it is the council's rubbish. But we should all take responsibility for our waste... If we tried to take the bins off our residents now, there would be a revolt."

Mr Smedley's account was largely borne out by Henry Mott, a director of Conquer pest control in Nottingham, which kills rats and vermin across Rushcliffe. He said that fortnightly rubbish collection only caused problems where not enough bins were provided, leading people to flytip or a build-up of rubbish bags, easy prey for rats.

"It's not going to lead to private house dwellers ringing us up and saying, 'Oh my God. I haven't had my bins emptied for two weeks, I've got rats,'" said Mr Mott. "What we might see are problems where people dispose of their rubbish in a manner that's not fit."

"They're trying to influence people's mentality and that's the right thing to do. The question is how does that actually impact on an individual's daily life. It might work for 50 weeks of the year but what happens if you happen to have an extra load of rubbish for one or two weeks? Is the council going to carry out an emergency collection? I don't think so."

The Daily Mail's revolt against fortnightly rubbish collection largely echoes the concerns of the Campaign for Weekly Waste Collection, which is led by Doretta Cocks, an environmental scientist from Hampshire. She pointed out today that the difference between the recycling rates of fortnightly and weekly collection services — 7 per cent — could be explained by other factors.

"It all depends on the service to consumers," she said. "Unfortunately councils are running into problems with fortnightly collections, especially in the summer, and they are not doing enough about it."

"I've spoken to and e-mailed thousands of people around the country. They want to recycle. That's not the issue. But they want their rubbish collected weekly."

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