Since 2021, the government has been consulting on a new waste and resources strategy. There are a number of aspects to this consultation, including the Deposit Return Scheme and EPR – extended producer responsibility – which is to ensure packaging manufacturers are taxed to pay for the cost of recycling or disposal.

A third element affects waste and recycling provision. This is known as ‘Consistency in Household and Business Recycling in England’ and would see:

• A baseline requirement for residents in all council areas to separate waste into seven different bins or containers – food, plastic, metal, glass, paper and card, garden waste and residual bins (non-recyclable waste).
• Introduction of separate weekly food waste collections for all households.
• Councils mandated to provide a free garden waste collection service to all households.
• Potential for limits to be placed on how frequently councils can collect bins.

In Gloucester, most residents know that the Council provides six different containers: the black bin for residual waste, the green bin (optional and chargeable) for garden waste, the brown bin for food waste, two green boxes – one for plastic and metal, the other for glass – and a blue sack for paper and card. This is not dissimilar to the government proposals except for the introduction of mandatory free garden waste collections, for the loss of which income the Council would have to be compensated.

A massive cost to the taxpayer

But across all of local government these changes would represent the biggest centrally imposed change the waste system has ever seen, removing local control of a really valued service and coming at a huge cost to the public purse. Not much would have to change in Gloucester to deliver the Government’s proposals, but the cost nationally would be huge and would have to be met by the taxpayer.

Over the past few years, the Council has made changes to improve the recycling collection regime and I have been really proud of the way residents have adapted to those changes. Last year the sale of the different recycling streams meant income of £1.2 million for the Council, helping to keep Council Tax down.

Well done to all those who recycle so well.