In the news: We're scrapping the sacks! Cabinet agrees next steps to fix the bins
Councillors approved new disposable bags for recyclable materials and instructed officers to compile costs for weekly residual waste collections
Basildon Council's Cabinet took an important step in the journey to fix the bins as they approved a detailed report into the council's waste and recycling services, at a meeting on Monday 11 November 2024.
The report follows a record-breaking public consultation of a staggering 8,000 responses where residents shared their frustrations with the existing collections for residual waste and mixed recycling.
At the meeting, councillors approved two key measures:
- To introduce two single-use disposable bags to replace current blue and white reusable recycling sacks
- To instruct officers to produce a fully costed delivery plan for the introduction of weekly residual waste collections, with a view to returning to weekly collections in early 2025.
These measures were drafted following analysis of the information provided by residents during the public consultation held in August and September 2024.
Cllr Aidan McGurran, Cabinet Member for Environment and Leisure welcomed the news:
"You told us to fix the bins and that's what we're going to deliver. Scrapping the sacks is the first big step in that journey."
"Since we were elected in May we have prioritised taking the steps necessary to bring back weekly collections and scrap the blue and white sacks which have caused so much frustration.
"The public consultation was loud and clear on what residents want us to do and these decisions are the next step in that journey."
During the consultation, 61% of respondents said they strongly agreed with proposals for a weekly wheeled bin collection for residual waste, while only 13% strongly agreed that the service should remain as it is currently.
For recycling, 51% of respondents strongly supported proposals for a collection from a wheeled bin for mixed paper/card/cans/plastics. To support this, councillors also considered a proposal to instruct officers to produce a fully costed proposal for other recycling options, alongside the introduction of disposable bags to replace the current blue and white reusable recycling sacks.
Councillors also reconfirmed plans for the return of the Crunch - a mobile waste collection service which was reintroduced earlier this year. Each of the council's six area committees are currently confirming locations for a one-day Crunch on 23 November 2024.
You can watch the discussion in full on the council's YouTube channel - Cabinet meeting - 11/11/2024
Ends
Published 12 November 2024
Contact Basildon Council's Press Office at pressoffice@basildon.gov.uk for further information.