Derby City Council is consulting with householders and local Neighbourhood Boards on proposals to end recycling collections in four areas of the city.

The proposals, first mooted in May and discussed at a cabinet meeting on 15 May, were reportedly brought about following the 2013/14 National Budget Settlement, which required ’significant reductions’ in the council’s budget.

As part of the budget review for 2013/14 and 2014/15, the council’s waste management team analysed the financial impact of introducing a charging policy for the collection of garden waste and removing recycling collections from 147 ‘inner city’ streets, which were deemed ‘not suited’ to the council’s full recycling collection scheme. Reasons of unsuitability included ‘the design of properties, high turnover of occupiers, lack of storage for recycling bins, and high levels of contamination, fly tipping and street litter’.

According to the analysis, the council could save around £1.2 million a year by charging £40 for garden waste collections, and could see a further £500,000 saved by removing recycling collections from the nominated streets in the wards of Abbey, Arboretum, Mackworth and Normanton.

Cabinet reasoning for proposals

The minutes from the 15 May cabinet meeting indicate that a trial on introducing these changes is now ‘subject to consultation with the Neighbourhood Boards’. This, alongside a consultation with the householders affected, is currently ongoing.

If approved, the changes would see a council-wide introduction of a charging scheme for the alternate weekly collection of garden waste from 24 March 2014, and the withdrawal of both brown and blue bin collection services – for mixed recycling and food and garden waste respectively – within the 147 identified streets, which will instead receive a weekly residual waste collection service from 28 October.

The minutes say that the city council has had to make ‘some difficult choices in reducing its budgets over the coming years’ and the decision to charge for garden waste collections coincides with 30 per cent of local authorities that already do so.

The council added that the proposed introduction of a weekly black bin collection service in the four areas would: ‘enable residents in those areas to manage their waste more effectively’, and hopefully reduce fly-tipping, and the amount of contaminated recycling and side waste.

Proposal is ‘popular among residents’

Speaking to Resource, Councillor Ranjit Banwait, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods and Streetpride at Derby City Council, said: “We have written to all households in the four areas concerned inviting comments on the proposal, and, although the consultation is still ongoing, we have already received a number of responses.

“We have also carried out a door-to-door survey with 100 households in each of the four areas with initial feedback demonstrating that the proposal is popular among residents.”

However, a recent survey undertaken by Derby Climate Coalition found that two out of three people (out of 276 responses) living in the New Zealand area of Mackworth, Derby 'did not want the council to stop providing kerbside recycling'.

The report concludes: 'The majority of people in this area have a real commitment to recycling, which is very encouraging. They expect leadership to be shown on this – and on climate change – by the council, and the majority consider the proposal to remove a kerbside recycling collection, and not to offer a paid-for brown bin garden waste collection, to be large steps backwards.'

As a result of the survey, Derby Climate Coalition outlined several recommendations to the council, including maintaining the same blue and black bin service as the rest of the city; providing residents with 'clear information' on waste management arrangements, including collection days, 'at least once a year'; empyting contaminated bins after issuing warnings, to give households 'the chance to make a fresh start'; and inviting residents to discuss their 'refuse management challenges' with the council.

Local resident andChairman of Sinfin and Spondon Against Incineration (SSAIN), Simon Bacon, told Resource “nothing stacks up” about the city council’s proposals.

He explained: “I’m a resident of one of the communities that will be affected, and recycling operates perfectly well in my street. There’s no issue with it. So there’s no reason for the council to be cutting it back.

“Derby is quite successful currently at recycling but [the city council is] pushing so many proposals now that will restrict our recycling – for example charging us £40 to have our green waste collected when it’s currently free – and now to basically take away recycling from 140 streets… Derby’s recycling rate is going to go drastically in reverse, which quite clearly isn’t the way forward when applying the waste hierarchy to refuse disposal.”

Bacon added that he believed that the true reason for the city council’s decision to cut back recycling schemes was linked to its 27-year, £400-million contract with Resource Recovery Solutions (RRS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Shanks, to build an incinerator in the local area: “The contract to have this waste incinerated in Sinfin, in Derby, requires the council to procure waste, and since that contract started, waste arisings have fallen. It seems like they’re trying to procure as much waste as possible to justify their proposal of forcing an incinerator on the community of Derby”, he added. Derby City Council has rejected these claims.

Proposals will only be made permanent if they tackle issues

Banwait was adamant that if the proposal does not receive the support of the Neighbourhood Boards, it is unlikely to be implemented.

He said: “Each of the Neighbourhood Boards is considering the proposals in turn and the council will make its final decision based on the boards’ views. The change in service will only be implemented if it is supported by Neighbourhood Boards and local people.”

Banwait added that if the proposals do go ahead, “it will only be for a trial period”.

He said: “At the end of the period, it will only be made permanent if it is successful in tackling the issues that have blighted these areas – namely bins on the streets, contaminated bins and high levels of fly-tipping and general litter.

“We have undertaken information and educational campaigns over a long period of time, as well as enforcement action, without ever resolving the issues. This is one proposal to improve the situation for local people and we have asked for other solutions.”

A full list of the 147 affected streets in the Abbey, Arboretum, Mackworth and Normanton wards can be found in the council briefing.

Read more about Derby City Council’s recycling service changes.