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Print articleThe new system, which is also designed to make it easier for people to recycle, will be introduced in three phases, starting in September.
Councillor Salim Lorgat, executive member for housing and neighbourhoods, said:
?The Council is listening and responding ? this is what people said they wanted. They told us they were happy to recycle but wanted a weekly collection too, which is what we are now going to provide.?
As part of the first phase, 17,000 residents, who were due to move to alternate weekly collections in the Autumn, will remain on weekly.
Instead, they will be given a new smaller bin for their household waste and they will be able to use their current grey bin for their recycables including plastic, cans and glass.
It will mean an end to the small green boxes which many people have complained about and will address the complaint that food waste stored over two weeks encouraged rats and maggots.
At the same time, there will also be an extra 6,000 brown bins circulated to houses with gardens to help them recycle their garden waste. This is addition to the 18,000 which have already been issued to residents in the borough.
The scheme is being phased in to help spread the cost and ensure the change goes as smoothly as possible.
Councillor Alan Cottam, executive member for regeneration, added:
?This initiative is the first step on the process of returning to weekly collections. The system has been designed to make recycling easier and more user friendly.
?The smaller bins for the residual waste have more capacity than was available on the fortnightly system but at the same time will still encourage people to recycle by limiting the amount of expensive landfill waste people can dispose of.
?Your existing 240 litre bin will be used to hold the re-cyclable content in a dry and secure wheelie bin which will be collected fortnightly. In the short term paper will be collected in sacks as at present. However, in the long term it hoped that advances in technology will mean that it can be deposited in the 240 litre bin along with the co-mingled plastic glass and metal products. The boxes will not be used in future.
?We aim to make re-cycling easier and look to increase the amount taken out of the landfill volume. You cooperation is essential to make this initiative work and the results of this first step will hopefully give us confidence to roll out the system across all areas of the borough as soon as resources allow us.?
