Braintree District Council’s Cabinet has agreed to hold an eight-week public consultation on the future of waste collection services across the district.
The decision to move forward with a public consultation was agreed at a Cabinet meeting tonight (Monday 16 December 2024). The council is exploring a new proposed waste collection approach that aims to improve recycling rates, reduce landfill waste and to ensure compliance with the Environment Act 2021’s, Simpler Recycling policy.
The council evaluated various options based on factors like alignment with legislation, environmental impact, sustainability, and cost-effectiveness.
The preferred collection approach includes:
- weekly food waste collection
- fortnightly paid for collection of garden waste
- three-weekly collection of general waste
- alternate fortnightly collection of paper and card
- alternate fortnightly collection of glass, metals, plastic and food and drink cartons
- Clear sacks that are currently used for recycling would be replaced with wheeled bins, in most circumstances.
Councillor Tom Cunningham, Cabinet Member for Transformation, the Environment and Customer Services and Deputy Leader at Braintree District Council, said: “As a local authority, we must move ahead to implement any changes required by the Simpler Recycling policy and we want residents to be part of how we move forward with the service. We’re also using this as an opportunity to look at the whole waste and recycling service, to look at how we can recycle even more, reduce what's thrown away, and help tackle climate change.
“This consultation will allow residents to share their feedback and any areas of concern they have, to help shape the future of the service. Please keep an eye out on the council’s communication channels for more information in the New Year to make sure you use the opportunity to have your say.”
The consultation will open on Monday 6 January 2025 and run until midnight on Sunday 2 March 2025.
No decisions have been made yet and once all the responses have been analysed and reviewed, a consultation report with recommendations will be taken to the council’s Cabinet for a final decision in May 2025 and implementation by April 2026.