Fortnightly bin rounds 'can double recycling'
The prospect of fortnightly refuse collections has moved a step closer in London after a council forced it on 2,500 households.
Kingston-upon-Thames council conducted a trial among hundreds of homes, switching fortnightly recycling collections to weekly while changing the frequency of refuse collections from weekly to fortnightly.
In compensation for the less frequent collections, larger wheelie bins were available for those who requested them.
Critics say the delay encourages the growth of bacteria and attracts vermin and residents said the bins were still not big enough.
The trial, in the Berrylands area of Kingston, raises fears of fortnightly collections being introduced across London after it was hailed a success.
Homes that took part in the trial saw the council collecting cardboard and organic waste such as kitchen scraps.
Previously the green boxes had been used only for cans and tins, glass bottles and jars, paper, plastic bottles, textiles and shoes.
The results showed the amount of waste being recycled more than doubled from an average of 2.41kg per household per week to 6.10kg.
An additional 3.58kg per household per week of cardboard and organic waste has been diverted from landfill sites since the trial began.
The contract for waste disposal is up for renewal but if councillors agree the scheme is a success all homes in the borough face fortnightly rubbish collection. Lee Marshall, chairman of the Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee, said the new scheme was successful.
He said: "On first inspection, the waste minimisation and recycling figures from the Berrylands trial look very impressive.
"The data is particularly interesting as the trial includes some features that are not yet being widely used, such as the weekly collection of food waste for recycling.
"Local authorities across the country are having to make brave decisions in order to meet the challenging targets set for them by Government. The Berrylands trial was a brave step for Kingston council but it is clearly paying off."
Every local authority in the country has been set a target by central government of achieving a 65 per cent reduction in the amount of biodegradable waste sent to landfill by 2020.
Authorities which do not meet these " landfill allowance" targets will be penalised with heavy fines of £150 per tonne over their allowance. On top of this, councils also have to pay a landfill tax, which at the moment is set at £24 per tonne, but by 2010 will have doubled to £48.
The trial comes as the Local Government Association announced recycling rates go up 30 per cent when councils switch to alternate weekly collections.
