Could Gove’s green plans halt bin fees?
■ Plans by Environment Minister Michael Gove (left) to tighten up the way the country deals with its waste could close the lid on controversial charges for garden waste collections that are due to be implemented in Ashbourne
A GOVERNMENT plan to tighten up the way the nation deals with its waste could close the lid on controversial charges for garden waste collection that were due to be implemented in Ashbourne.
Environment Secretary Michael Gove’s new Resources and Waste Strategy for England, published last month, proposes telling councils to scrap charges for disposing of garden waste.
The policy document, which came out three weeks after Derbyshire Dales District Council voted in a plan to charge for its fortnightly green-bin collections ahead of a new waste contract next year, disagrees with charges because of gasses that can be given off if garden waste ends up in landfill.
The 146-page document, which was published on Tuesday, December 18, also sets out a proposal to make recycling more consistent across the country, to tackle waste crime and put more pressure on companies to make prod- ucts easier to recycle. Another aspect of the strategy is to tighten up food-waste collection policies among local authorities.
But Derbyshire Dales District Council has already agreed to retain its weekly caddy collections when the new contract begins in August 2020.
Mr Gove said: “Our strategy sets out how we will go further and faster, to reduce, reuse, and recycle.
“Together we can move away from being a ‘throw-away’ society, to one that looks at waste as a valuable resource.
“We will cut our reliance on single-use plastics, end confusion over household recycling, tackle the problem of packaging by making polluters pay, and end the economic, environmental and moral scandal that is food waste.
“Through this plan we will cement our place as a world leader in resource efficiency, leaving our environment in a better state than when we inherited it.”
Towards the end of November councillors unanimously agreed to push ahead with plans to bring in charges for garden waste pickups. The district council’s current contract with Serco Limited, costing £1.9 million per year, runs out in August 2020 and the authority has been on the hunt for a replacement.
It says the current service cannot remain the same due to changes in the market, including the value of recyclable material and continued pressures on the council’s finances. The authority said that the current contract would cost £2.5 million a year if it was awarded under current market pressures, which would be “unaffordable”. The council’s total annual budget is about £35 million a year.
As a result it put forward a series of potential changes, including changing to fourweekly waste pickups and a range of potential charges for garden waste pick-ups from £25 up to £55 per year. After a record response to its consultation, with more than 2,600 people sharing their views, the authority voted to ditch the four-weekly proposals but councillors decided to push forward with chargeable fortnightly pickups for garden waste.
Details of the future waste contract were finalised at the meeting, so that it could send out a tender for companies to apply for.