The plans could receive approval from both councils tomorrow (25 October) at meetings held as the authorities look to procure a new eight-year waste and recycling collection contract.
Waste from both East and North Hertfordshire is managed by Cheltenham-based Urbaser under a joint contract which began in 2018 and ends in 2025.
East and North Hertfordshire currently operate slightly different collections and the proposals will see an alignment of services for “greater efficiency”.
Cllr Graham McAndrew, East Hertfordshire’s executive member for environmental sustainability, said: “At the moment, a three-weekly general waste bin collection cycle is just a proposal, but we all need to do our bit for the planet, which includes looking at our waste habits – reducing what we throw away, reusing items where possible and recycling as much as we can at the kerbside and elsewhere.”
Collecting residual waste every three weeks would save £270,000 a year and reduce carbon emissions by an estimated 60 tonnes, East Hertfordshire says.
East Hertfordshire recently consulted residents on its proposed changes, finding that nearly 45% of respondents said their black residual waste bins were either half- or quarter-full when collected.
Recent analysis of black bins in East Hertfordshire found that 43% of the contents could be recycled, the council claims.
Cllr McAndrew said the survey results, the analysis and the proposed addition of a food waste collection gave him “confidence” that residents could manage the switch.
Resources and Waste Strategy
According to a report which will go before East Hertfordshire’s executive, the “key drivers” behind beginning the procurement process are the Resources and Waste Strategy and the financial challenges faced by the councils, which have been “exacerbated by inflationary pressures”.
We all need to do our bit for the planet, which includes looking at our waste habits
Waste is East Hertfordshire’s “single largest expenditure”, the council says, and its waste contract currently costs “over double the budgeted figure for 2022/23”. Collecting waste from the 62,000 homes across East Hertfordshire costs more than £3.5 million a year, the council says.
Meanwhile, the report notes the Resources and Waste Strategy will “significantly change the way councils operate waste collection services”.
The government is yet to publish its response to its consultation on consistency in household and business recycling in England. East Hertfordshire’s report says: “The procurement timeline however means that we have no choice but to progress with our procurement of a new contract.”
Awarding Urbaser a contract extension “would not be appropriate to ensure best value for the council”, the report says, given “the anticipated changes in service delivery and changes in market prices”.
Proposals
Alongside three-weekly collections, the councils have proposed making 180l containers the standard size for residents’ residual waste.
The councils have also proposed including plastic film in mixed dry recycling collections from 2025. However, the report notes the implementation date is “subject to the outcomes of Resources and Waste Strategy consultation on consistency”.
And, the plans include a new weekly separate food waste collection service in 23l caddies for houses and in wheeled bins for flats from 2025.
Hertfordshire
East and North Hertfordshire entered their shared service arrangement with Urbaser in 2017.
The current contract covers the collection of waste and recycling from approximately 124,000 households and more than 1,920 commercial customers, as well as street cleansing services across East and North Hertfordshire.
East Hertfordshire district council had a household waste recycling rate of 49% in the 2020/21 financial year, while North Hertfordshire’s rate was 55.9%.
Subscribe for free