Councils told to offer complete recycling service within four years
COUNCILS will have to offer households a comprehensive recycling service within four years to end the chaotic situation across the country, ministers have said.
Earlier this month The Daily Telegraph revealed that just one in five councils provided a complete recycling service, leaving householders in a postcode lottery of waste disposal, and confused as to what they should be putting in their bins.
The bewildering system means Britain will not meet targets to recycle 50 per cent of household waste by 2020.
This newspaper launched a “Zero Waste” campaign calling on the Government, local councils and private companies to do more to boost the country’s recycling rates and make the process simpler.
After a consultation, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has announced that by 2023, all councils will be legally obliged to recycle glass bottles and jars, paper and card, plastic bottles, pots, and trays, as well as steel and aluminium cans. Food waste recycling will also be brought in across the country, and the Government is considering funding councils to collect garden waste for free. Many have recently started charging up to £96 a year for the service.
Under new plans, producers of packaging will also bear the full net cost of disposing of it, to encourage them to choose recyclable products.
Martin Tett, the environment spokesman for the Local Government Association, said: “We support moves to a clearly defined core set of recyclable materials, as long it is fully funded, and welcome further work on how funding from packaging producers and retailers will be allocated to councils.
“The onus is now on manufacturers to urgently up their game by using packaging that is fully and easily recyclable, and pay the full cost of recycling packaging.” Under the proposals, labels on packaging will also become simpler.
A Defra spokesman said: “The Government aims to make it easier for people to recycle by implementing a consistent and simplified approach across local authorities.”
The measures were set out by Michael Gove, the Environment Secretary, as part of the new Environment Bill, which has been updated for the first time in 20 years and will include laws to make councils tackle waste effectively. Other proposals include a deposit return scheme for drinks containers.