Members agreed to implement a Policy for Household Waste and Recycling Collections from 1 April 2024.
At Braintree District Council’s Cabinet meeting held on Monday 18 December 2023, Members agreed to implement a Policy for Household Waste and Recycling Collections from 1 April 2024. This includes the non-collection of additional waste put out for collection that is not contained within grey wheeled bins, referred to as side waste.
In comparison to other councils in Essex, the tonnage of waste collected in grey wheeled bins in the Braintree District is significantly higher. Last year, Braintree District households generated the fourth highest volume of residual waste in Essex, averaging to 463.58 kgs of waste per household.
Braintree District Council has always encouraged waste minimisation and recycling by delivering campaigns as well as working alongside other local authorities across the county via the Love Essex partnership and supporting national campaigns driven by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), Love Food Hate Waste and Recycle Now.
However, even though many residents have changed their behaviour to reduce their waste and recycle as much as they can, more needs to be done to meet recycling targets and waste minimisation objectives that have been set for the future.
Therefore, the council will be ceasing the collection of all side waste from 1 April 2024 and will only collect waste which is presented in the grey bin and the lid must be shut. There are many local authorities across the country that already do not collect side waste, including those in Essex.
Braintree District Council is giving this advance notice so that residents have time to adjust to the change before side waste collections stop next year.
The council’s Waste Minimisation and Sustainability Team is available to offer support and keen to work with residents to offer guidance and advice on ways of reducing the amount of waste they produce through education and intervention. For the minority of residents who continue present side waste, the council may have to consider the option of enforcement action.
Councillor Tom Cunningham, Cabinet Member for Transformation, the Environment and Customer Services, and Deputy Leader at Braintree District Council, said: “We all need to think about what we buy and take greater responsibility for reducing the amount of household waste we produce and recycle as much as we can. This will help save energy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, positively impact the environment and pave the way for a greener and more sustainable future for generations to come.”
In conjunction with the non-collection of side waste, one of the aims of the new policy is to support a more circular economy by keeping resources in use for as long as possible, reusing, repairing, refurbishing, and recycling to extend the life cycle of products.
If a resident’s bin is missed on their collection day, under the new policy, they will need to report it to the council after 3pm on the day of collection and no later than 12 noon on the next working day and should leave their bin at their normal collection point. The collection crew will return to collect it within 2 working days of receiving a missed bin report.
The weekly collections for properties which have communal bins, such as flats, will remain the same.
There is still no restriction to the number of clear recycling sacks residents can put out for collection, providing they contain the correct items.
Braintree District Council will keep residents informed of any updates over the coming months before the new policy commences.
Section 87 of the Environmental Act 1990 – following the Government’s provision for local authorities to increase the level of Fixed Penalties Notices up to a maximum of £500, Braintree District Council is currently reviewing to increase the current level of £100 to £200 for littering. Any side waste will be treated as an unauthorised deposit of waste put out on the highway that is not contained within the correct receptacle.