Reading Borough Council is consulting on a new five-year plan to drive up recycling rates and reduce the amount of waste going to landfill.

The ‘Waste Minimisation Strategy 2015-2020’ proposes a number of initiatives to help the council achieve its goal of 50 per cent recycling by 2020 and cut the quantity of waste going to landfill, including proposals to introduce food waste collections.

Strategy aims

The new strategy has been drawn up to address the predicted pressures of a rising population on the local waste system. The council has revealed that the population of Reading has grown by nine per cent since 2001, and is forecast to increase by a further 24 per cent by 2050, taking the population to 193,056.

The strategy has four key aims:

• increase recycling and re-use rates;
• minimise the amount of waste sent to landfill, and therefore reduce costs arising from landfill tax;
• increase understanding and engagement in waste and recycling services amongst community members and stakeholders; and
• ensure that waste collection and disposal service is ‘effective, efficient and value for money’.

Proposed actions

The council has outlined a number of ways that it will work with residents, businesses and organisations to help achieve these targets. They include:

• reviewing food waste recycling systems, including a possible introduction of kerbside collection;
• increasing the number of ‘on-the-go’ recycling sites located around the town;
• encouraging local businesses to reduce packaging;
• providing better public information about recycling and re-use – particularly regarding the importance of sorting waste into the correct bins; and
• introducing an incentive scheme to encourage reuse and recycling.

Local residents are currently being asked to comment on the plans via an online consultation form by 20 February.

The council will review these comments before a meeting of the Council's Housing, Neighbourhoods and Leisure Committee in the Spring.

“More people means more waste”

Liz Terry, Reading Borough Council's Lead Member for Neighbourhoods, said: "Reading continues to grow. There are now around 70,000 households and 160,000 people living in the town. While this is welcome, more people means more waste and that is something the Council - together with residents - need to tackle.

"This draft Waste Minimisation Strategy outlines how we hope to achieve that, by combining better public information with some important practical steps to help increase recycling rates. Landfill charges continue to rise and at the time of hugely restricted resources for Local Government, that cannot continue.

"Reading is this year moving towards a much more targeted approach where it will focus resources on neighbourhoods. Every neighbourhood in the town has its own challenges in terms of waste collection. By focusing on individual communities, we aim to tackle those challenges head-on."

Read more about the Waste Minimisation Strategy 2015-2020, or access the online feedback form.