More information about the Draft Waste Strategy

Why our waste and recycling service must change

Changes to the current waste and recycling service for the New Forest are necessary to reduce the amount we throw away, and to increase what we recycle.

The aim of a new service will be to provide a cost and carbon efficient waste and recycling system that will comply with national legislation. In December 2018 the Department of Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) published a new national waste strategy. This has been the primary driver for our work so far. The strategy proposes new ways of dealing with waste at a national level. We know that in the future we will need to provide a separate collection of food waste every week, and that we will also be required to change the way recyclable materials are mixed and collected.

We have been doing work for almost two years to help us understand the different options available to us for waste and recycling collections.

The work we have done so far

We have reviewed our current service against forthcoming legislation and the need for improved recycling.

This work has included the following:

Looking at what the national waste strategy means for the area
Conducting initial research into different ways the service could be delivered and how these might work for the New Forest
Surveying a representative sample of 4,000 residents to understand what they value about our current service, and what improvements they would like to see
Visiting other local authorities and researched the service provision of the best performing local authorities
Working with Hampshire County Council on the future of the disposal and reprocessing of waste and recycling materials
Selecting a preferred collection system based on the work we have completed

Our findings have determined that continuing with a weekly collection of single use plastic sacks for waste and recycling is not compatible with our commitment to reducing single use plastic and providing a more carbon efficient service. This means we may need to use different methods of containing waste and where possible reduce the number of refuse collection vehicles we use.

The preferred option that we have identified at this stage includes:

a separate weekly food waste collection
alternate weekly collections of general waste and recycling
the use of wheeled bins

This preferred option will now be assessed in more detail so we can design a new service that will work best for the New Forest. You can read more information about why the service must change in the draft waste strategy summary document included in this pack. The full draft waste strategy document is available online at newforest.gov.uk/wastestrategy.

You may also request a printed copy of the full draft waste strategy document by calling Customer Services on 023 8028 5000.

Detail about the proposed new system

Bins and containers

We currently provide 10 million single use plastic waste sacks to residents every year, which is not good for the environment. We are still looking at the proposed new system, but instead of single use plastic waste sacks we could provide residents with:

An indoor kitchen caddy and outdoor caddy for food waste
Wheeled bin for mixed recycling; glass, plastics, tins and cans
Reusable bag for paper and cardboard
Wheeled bin for general waste
The option of a reusable bag or a wheeled bin for garden waste (if subscribed for this service)

Bin size and capacity

Food waste and various plastic materials are currently collected in the black rubbish sack.

In the proposed new system we would be collecting these materials for recycling. This should give households enough capacity in their wheeled bin for general waste, but we will be doing more work on the proposed separation of materials to assess what size of wheeled bin will be required.

We recognise that some larger households may need additional capacity and we would put an application system in place to manage this.

When waste and recycling would be collected

The system we want to explore further would mean food waste is collected every week, but recycling and general waste collections are carried out over a two-week period, often referred to as an alternate weekly collection:

Week 1: Food waste, general waste, and garden waste if subscribed*

Week 2: Food waste, mixed recycling (glass, plastics, tins and cans), paper and cardboard

*Garden waste is a pay-for service and could be collected on either week one or week two depending on where you live.

Bin hygiene

Food waste will be separated from general waste and collected weekly, which should prevent any unwanted odours in the food waste caddy and the general waste wheeled bin. We also know that rinsing any food containers before adding them to the wheeled bin helps to prevent unwanted odours.

Help with putting out waste and recycling

Whatever new collection system is introduced, we would continue to provide an assisted collection service for residents who have either a temporary or long-term disability, illness, mobility issue, or injury, that prevents them from taking their waste to the edge of their property.

Flats, terraced houses, and rural properties

We understand that for a small number of properties, that access to and storage of bins and containers may be an issue. We will carry out extensive surveying of properties during the planning phase and would consider different methods of containment or collection for properties where this is an issue.

The environmental benefits of the proposed new system

The new collection system that is being proposed will provide the following environmental benefits:

Recycling of food waste (currently represents up to 40% of the black sack waste)
An increased range of plastics materials could be collected in the recycling for example plastic pots, tubs and trays
Achieve a reduced carbon impact by using alternate weekly collections of general waste and recycling
Limiting the amount of general waste will encourage recycling
Use of wheeled bins will eliminate the use of 10 million single use plastic sacks
Litter and Streetscene issues from split sacks will be minimised

Recycling more

Empty and clean recyclable items could be placed directly in a wheeled bin for mixed recycling which includes glass, plastics, tins and cans, without the need for a plastic sack.

Paper and cardboard could be placed in a separate reusable bag.

Some general waste may still need to be bagged in your kitchen bin, before you add it to the general waste wheeled bin, however the overall amount of general waste will reduce if food and other recyclable materials are being collected separately.

The proposed new system could help us make the following improvements to recycling:

A wider variety of plastic materials could be added to the mixed recycling, such as pots, tubs and trays
Other materials such as cartons, foil and plastic bags are also being considered
Glass would be mixed with other recyclables and would be collected every two weeks, instead of every four weeks.

Food waste recycling

A wide range of food waste could be collected by a separate food waste service, this would include compostable items for residents who do not have access to a compost bin, as well as unavoidable food waste, for example:

Leftovers from meals
Eggs and eggshells
Dairy products, such as cheese
Vegetables and fruit, raw and cooked
Bread, cakes and other baked goods
Meat, raw and cooked including fat and bones
Fish and shellfish, raw and cooked including bones and shells
Rice, pasta and beans
Tea bags and coffee grounds
Pet food Research shows that introducing food waste collections can increase recycling rates by around 10%

The next stage

A timeline of the process is outlined below:

December 2018: DEFRA national waste strategy published
August 2019 - August 2020: Initial project work to assess different options

Draft waste strategy elected member approval process:

15 October 2020: Environment panel
4 November 2020: Cabinet
12 November 2020 - 10 December 2020: resident and stakeholder engagement process and opportunity to comment

Waste strategy member approval process:

Early 2021: Review of resident and stakeholder engagement
Early 2022: Following a government response from the latest consultations, a revised final waste strategy document will be presented for the member approval process

We will work on implementing changes to our waste and recycling service once the final waste strategy has been approved.