Seven recycling bins; Has the government gone mad?

Proposed plans that might force UK homeowners to pay for seven different types of recycling bins has generated outrage, with Lawmakers calling them "madness." 

 

One think tank has demanded that taxpayers not be left to foot the bill, and there are concerns that councils may shift the expense of the new government green programme onto homeowners. 

 

The plan, which would require all local councils in the UK to separately collect paper, cardboard, metal, plastic, and glass as well as garden and food waste, has been condemned by councils as "unworkable" and costing hundreds of millions of pounds. 

 

A nationwide bin service, which is expected to be unveiled in the middle of April, would mean some families would have to have seven trash cans. 

 

The planned move is the result of a government consultation on home and commercial recycling, the results of which will be published by Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey next month. 

 

Due to differences in rates under various local authorities, reforms are being undertaken to improve consistency of waste recycling throughout the nation. 

 

Councils would have to prove that collecting various types of recycling material separately is "not technically or economically practical" in order to be excused from some of the changes. 

 

If they can show there would be no "substantial environmental advantage in doing so," that would be another way out. 

 

The District Council's Network estimates that implementing recycling measures will cost councils roughly half a billion pounds a year for seven years. Councils have cautioned that the proposals to create consistent rubbish collection procedures across England could prove impossible. 

 

The DCN opposed the 2021 proposed changes, stating that the analysis "estimated that the consistency changes proposed would increase annual service costs for districts in England by over £400 million; when additional capital and running costs were averaged over seven years, this figure rises to almost £680 million if all English collection authorities are included." 

 

They emphasised that the true ongoing costs of the ideas would likely be "quite substantial," and that their estimates "do not include expenses of delivering new waste receptacles, providing extra depots, communications to the public about changes, nor contractual or training fees." 

 

In the UK, decision-making on waste management is mostly devolved to the governments of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. 

 

The manner and timing of waste collection from homes and businesses are now left up to the local authorities in England. 

 

But, the government established a new rule this year mandating the separate collection of a predetermined set of recyclable waste materials from all homes and businesses. 

 

Food trash collection is also mandated by the Environment Act, which became law in 2021, and must occur at least once every week. 

 

Additionally, the government intends to grant councils the authority to charge for this additional service while allowing them to collect garden waste for free. 

 

The question on everyone’s mind is if you had to separate your waste into seven bins would you?