East Herts Council ready to ramp up recycling as countdown to bin revolution begins
Three new bins for East Herts residents will be delivered from the start of May – but households will not be able to use them until August.
As part of a new waste and recycling service, operated jointly with North Herts, the district council will provide a 180-litre purple-lidded bin for non-recyclable waste, a 23-litre outdoor food waste caddy and a 5-litre kitchen caddy.
Non-recyclable waste, mixed recycling, and cardboard and paper will be collected on a three-weekly cycle. Food waste collections will take place weekly and garden waste collections will continue to be fortnightly for those who subscribe.
The new system involves repur-posing some of the existing East Herts bins; the black-lidded one will be used for mixed recycling (including plastic bags and wrapping) and the blue-lidded bin for cardboard and paper.
Residents will be asked to swap use of these bins after the last collection under the old system, ready for the new collection cycles beginning on Monday August 4.
The hope is the change will encourage more recycling.
The Green Party’s Cllr Tim Hoskin, executive member for environmental sustainability at East Herts Council (EHC), said: “This is a big and exciting change that will impact us all. I’m really looking forward to the introduction of food waste recycling in East Herts and the positive effect this will have.
“The new service supports residents who want to recycle more as, sadly, across the district, we throw away more than we recycle.
“This change will give us all the opportunity to reduce the waste not being recycled. It will also give food waste a second life, going on to generate electricity and provide fertiliser for crops, helping us all do more for the environment.”
Some residents’ bin collection days will change. More information will be provided before the new service begins.
Residents who produce more non-recyclable waste – such as those living in larger households, those with multiple children in nappies and people with special medical needs – will be contacted separately.
Cllr Hoskin acknowledged the new system could be a challenge for residents initially, but said it represented a more sustainable future, with the potential for financial savings as less waste is sent to landfill and incineration costs increase.
The Government’s Simpler Recycling programme requires separate collection and recycling of food waste and cardboard and paper, as well as recycling of soft plastics.
Cllr Hoskin said: “Why are we changing? What are we doing this for? Primarily it is to help us achieve Government targets. But, having said that, this administration fully owns those Government targets and is absolutely supportive of the direction of travel on recycling and minimisation of waste.”
East Herts, which currently recycles around 45% of waste, will roll out the service from August – despite the potential for confusion caused by summer holidays – to ensure it is working well by the winter.
The district produces around 30% more waste than usual at Christmas, so bosses say it is essential the system is “bedded in” by then.
Cllr Hoskin said: “We want to achieve a minimum of 60% recycling… so there’s some distance to cover there.”
The district’s residual waste currently contains up to 15% food waste, costing families around £700 a year, so the new caddies have the potential to make a big difference.
As well as the new bins, EHC has invested in refuse vehicles, operational from May, as part of its new contract with Veolia. The bins and trucks are estimated to cost £7.835m.
Bin delivery timetables are being finalised. A four-page leaflet explaining the changes will be delivered to homes across East Herts this month and the district council plans an ongoing publicity campaign to keep residents informed.
