Shake-up looms for area’s kerbside bin collections
BIG CHANGES PLANNED FOR RESIDENTS
BIG changes to bin collections of household waste from homes in Hull and the East Riding are on their way.
The shake-up is likely to see food waste being collected separately from garden waste and new rules on what can be put in bins currently used for mixed dry recycling.
The changes are expected to mean households being given extra bins to separate different kinds of waste before collection.
They are part of an attempt by the government to introduce a standard system of household waste collection across England as part of a wider strategy tackling issues around recycling, packaging and food waste.
At the moment, individual local councils operate their own household waste policies which differ from place to place.
The main variation locally is the colour of the different bins issued by Hull City Council and East Riding Council.
Hull’s main bin for non-recyclable dry waste such as plastics and glass is black while the East Riding version is green.
The new government strategy includes a target to achieve a national recycling rate of 65 per cent by 2035.
Currently Hull’s recycling rate for household waste is 49 per cent - the second highest in the country among comparable urban unitary councils - while the East Riding’s rate is 63.3 per cent making it one the best performing overall councils in the country.
Although not expected to be implemented until 2023, Hull City Council’s head of waste management Doug Sharp, said: “The challenge for us is the demographics of the city. We don’t really have any affluent suburbs with big gardens so that means we collect far less garden waste than many other authorities.
“We also have a lot of properties, such as flats and houses in multiple occupation, where bin storage is a real issue and we also have some areas where the population is very transient.
“Having said that, we have gone from having a recycling rate of just six per cent in 2001 when we had just 30,000 blue bins in the city and one household waste recycling centre at Wilmington, which was not fit for purpose to where we are now.”
Mr Sharp said the biggest changes were likely to involve separate weekly food waste collections from households and a new national deposit return scheme for used plastic, glass and can drinks containers based in shops and supermarkets.
Once rolled out, he said it would probably have an impact on Hull’s blue bin service as it is currently geared to collect those items.
Councillors heard the changes were likely to be phased in to help councils amend their current contracts with firms who eventually process the collected waste.