Council asks people to have their say on proposals to boost recycling rates
Hackney Council is asking local people to have their say on proposals to introduce fortnightly waste collections at some properties in the borough, aimed at encouraging households to recycle more of the waste they currently throw away.
The proposals would see non-recyclable waste collections switched to every two weeks for street-level properties - generally houses, or houses that have been converted into flats, which have green sack recycling services.
There would be no change to existing weekly collections for recycling and food waste and the proposals would not affect collections for flats above shops or properties with communal bins, including estates and new build blocks.
Over half of the waste people currently throw away in Hackney could be composted or recycled, and the proposed changes are aimed at persuading people to use their recycling and food waste recycling more.
The 13 London boroughs that have already implemented fortnightly collections - a key requirement of the Mayor of London’s environment strategy, which all London councils are signed up to - have seen increases in their recycling rates.
If these increases were replicated in Hackney, around 5000 tonnes of waste - the equivalent of the waste contained in 500 bin lorries - would be recycled instead of incinerated every year.
Part of the proposals would include providing new bins for non-recyclable waste, with the Council only proposing to collect non-recyclable waste if it is contained within the new bins, encouraging people to waste less and recycle more.
Because the Council’s waste service will continue to collect recycling and food waste weekly, it does not expect to save any money on collections. The changes are aimed solely at increasing the amount residents recycle. However, as it is set to cost the Council more to dispose of waste in the coming years, it is hoped that recycling more and throwing away less rubbish will save money on its disposal costs in the longer term.
We recently passed a climate emergency motion, which commits the Council to almost halving our emissions as a Council by 2030 and delivering net zero emissions by 2040. These proposals would help us to achieve this ambitious goal by increasing recycling and reducing the amount of waste which is sent to be incinerated.
Hackney residents have already made great progress in increasing the amount they recycle - from 1% in 1998 to around 28% today, but over half the rubbish people currently throw away in Hackney could be recycled or composted. This needs to change if we’re to reduce waste and address the climate emergency.
As we saw from the remarkable turnout from the children and people of Hackney during the recent Climate Strike, there is a big appetite from our residents to see the Council do everything in its power to address the unfolding climate emergency. That’s what these proposals represent, and I’d urge local people to have their say, in order to ensure they work for everyone.
Local people can find out more about the proposals and have their say at: https://consultation.hackney.gov.uk/waste-recycling/fortnightly-waste-collections-consultation/
This will ensure that the Council can gather the views of people who would be affected by the proposals.
Consultation packs have also been sent to all households that would be affected by the proposals.
People can find out what can and can’t be recycled at: https://www.hackney.gov.uk/green-sacks