Bins in Bristol are currently picked up fortnightly and the majority of Bristol households have said they do not want any changes
Bristol bin collections on Caledonia Place, Clifton, Bristol, December 7th 2023 Release date – December 8, 2023. See SWNS story SWLNbins. Residents of one street say they dread bin day – as they face the prospect of separating their rubbish into THIRTEEN different bags, boxes and containers. Caledonia Place in the affulent suburb of Clifton in Bristol is turned into an ‘eyesore’ every Thursday morning as hundreds of rubbish containers pile up waiting for collection. They have always had to separate their household waste into cardboard, plastic, tins and glass, but the number is set to double as clothing, batteries and shoes are added to the list. For six days a week the balconies and large sash windows of the smart street, look out onto clean pavements and leafy gardens tended by the proud residents. But every Thursday morning it’s littered with hundreds of rubbish containers waiting for the binmen to arrive – and the number of containers could soon double. (Image: © SWNS)
Opposition councillors at Bristol City Council have called on the Greens to rule out three-weekly bin collections for the city.
It comes after the results of a recent consultation on changes to waste collections revealed that almost two-thirds of households who responded were against the idea.
Now the Labour group at the council are calling for the ruling Green Party to keep black bin collections fortnightly.
Cllr Tom Renhard, leader of Bristol Labour, said: “A huge majority of the public say the council should not move to three-weekly black bin collection.
“Almost 17,000 people responded to this consultation and over 12,000 people signed our petition.
“The number of people making their voices heard should make it abundantly clear to the Greens that Bristolians want their bins collected fortnightly.
“The Green Party administration needs to listen to the public and immediately rule out a move to three-weekly black bin collection.”
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A spokesperson for the Greens said the purpose of the consultation was to gauge resident’s opinions and no decisions had been made yet.
They said a task and finish group made up of councillors from all parties — including Labour — will now look at the evidence before making any suggestions for the Environment and Sustainability Committee to vote on.
The spokesperson added: “This group is looking at our waste and recycling service as a whole, ways to change and improve it, and considering all the feedback from the consultation, including residents’ clear priorities around clean streets, reducing waste, recycling more and tackling the climate and ecological emergency.”
The latest feedback follows massive backlash to initial proposals that would see a switch to collecting the bins every four weeks, which ended up being dropped by council chiefs.
Bristol City Council says it needs seek to understand how Bristol can increase recycling rates, manage waste and recycling services sustainably and respond to changing national regulation, with significantly increased recycling targets for local authorities.
Bristol’s Waste and Recycling Task and Finish Group has been tasked with developing recommendations to meet changing national policy and regulation including achieving 65 per cent recycling rates by 2035, the introduction of kerbside collections of soft plastic packaging from 2027, and to reduce the amount of household waste going to incineration ahead of the expected introduction of the Emissions Trading Scheme in 2028, which could incur significant costs for the city if current levels continue.
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