Does winter put the freeze on recycling?
That’s the reason one Newcastle borough councillor has put forward as rates at the authority dropped during the cold spell. Phil Corrigan reports
DARK mornings and cold weather have been blamed for a dip in recycling rates. Newcastle Borough Council failed to hit its collection targets for both dry recycling and food waste in the last three months of 2023. The cumulative collection rate for dry recycling was 20.76 per cent, compared to a target of 25 per cent, while food waste was collected from 33 per cent of households over the quarter – based on a two-week ‘snapshot’ – compared to a target of 35 per cent. These figures were among the latest finance and performance report presented to cabinet members.
Councillor David Hutchison, portfolio holder for sustainable environment, told the cabinet meeting he believed seasonal issues were behind the dip.
He said: “I am disappointed that we’ve had a slight dip. I know there have been dark nights, dark mornings – I didn’t put out my food waste bin every week, and we didn’t put out the blue bin either, if it wasn’t full, because it was cold outside. So I think this is just a snapshot – it only looks at two weeks. And I’m sure it’s going to bounce back in the next quarter.”
Dry recycling rates in Newcastle have been falling over the last three years. The report says this is part of a national trend, ‘potentially due to the cost of living crisis’. But the report notes that Newcastle remains the second highest performer in Staffordshire.
Cllr Hutchison also told the meeting the council was missing its target for missed kerbside collections, with 63.26 missed collections per 100,000, compared to a target of 55. He said: “I’m aware of a few reasons: streets blocked with cars, replacement crews not being aware of procedures for opening gated areas – there has been a little bit of staff training in that area.” But Cllr Hutchison pointed out that the missed collections still only represented less than 0.1 per cent of all collections in the borough.