Waste strategy: executive summary

Following government updates, we have revised our plan for new waste and recycling collections. View the latest information about changes to recycling and rubbish collections.

This strategy sets out our approach to managing waste and recycling collections in a more sustainable way, with the aim of reducing the environmental impact of waste in the New Forest.

Policy and strategic drivers

The strategy is based on the principle of the waste hierarchy and stresses the importance of preventing waste as the top priority, and disposal as the lowest priority.

The principles of the waste hierarchy are:

Reduce

Minimises the generation of waste products.

Reuse

Redistribute for continued use, minimal processing.

Recycle

Collection of used items, turning them back into raw material.

Energy recovery

Includes anaerobic digestion and incineration with energy recovery.

Landfill

Last resort, no recovery of raw materials or energy.

There are other key drivers that have helped form the direction of the strategy.

At a national level, the Environment Act 2021 has paved the way for consistent recycling collections across England, we must therefore change our collection system to ensure:

recyclable waste must be collected separately from other waste
recyclable waste includes glass, metal, plastic, paper, card, food waste, and garden waste
recyclable waste streams must be collected separately from each other, unless not technically or economically practicable or if there is no environmental benefit in doing so

Our waste and recycling collection service is a small part of the overall waste management infrastructure in Hampshire.

The current material recovery facilities in Hampshire are approaching the end of their life, this is a key driver for a new Hampshire-wide approach to dealing with waste.

In October 2021, we approved a new 3 year "Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy". The new Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy, aligns with the proposed national changes and will allow us to continue to utilise the disposal infrastructure provided by Hampshire County Council.

In October 2021, we declared a climate change and nature emergency, committing to carrying out a fundamental review of all our activities.

To reduce carbon, we must make sure the waste and recycling service prioritises the prevention and minimisation of waste and encourages recycling.

The most effective way to do this, is to change our frontline collection services to help reduce waste.

Our recycling rates are currently significantly below the national average, at 34%.

Current national targets are set at 55% by 2025. This strategy sets out our approach to managing waste and recycling collections in a more sustainable way, with the aim of reducing the environmental impact of waste in the New Forest.

Current performance

As part of our research, an environmental impact assessment was carried out using a carbon modelling tool.

It showed that the service has a net CO2 emissions saving of 1,525 tonnes, a figure we must work to improve by recycling more.

The recycling rate in NFDC and across Hampshire is significantly below the average for England. Based on recycling rate, we are ranked 174th out of 216 English waste collection authorities in 2020 to 2021.

For example, we had a 34% recycling rate in 2020 to 2021, compared to Hampshire with 35%. The average across England was 43%. The highest rate was St Albans City and District Council, with 64%.

The UK recycling target for 2025 is 55%.

In 2018, a comprehensive composition analysis of kerbside waste and recycling was carried out. Nearly half (47%) of black bag waste was made up of putrescible (organic/ degradable) waste. Of this putrescible waste, almost 40% was food waste.

Overall, 19% of general waste could have been recycled at the kerbside or bring sites, rather than being placed into black sacks.

Engagement

Two main pieces of work have been carried out.

In January 2020, an inclusive and representative, door-to-door and online survey was carried out with 3,832 residents.

Secondly, following the release of the draft waste strategy document, a formal period of engagement was held from 12 November to 20 December 2020.

There were 3,863 responses including online survey or paper survey form responses, letters, and emails.

Key findings were:

there is a strong willingness to recycle more and reduce waste
half of New Forest residents support the introduction of wheeled bins
concern expressed regarding the issue of storage space for the bins and additional waste
lack of storage heightens apprehension about the overall visual impact of wheeled bins
concern for elderly and disabled residents with regards to the handling of wheeled bins
the environmental/carbon reduction benefit of reducing collection frequency and working to reduce overall household waste was less frequently cited. We need to communicate this benefit better

Why we must change

The policy drivers and research carried out in preparation for this strategy has demonstrated the need for change in frontline service delivery.

This is summarised below:

we must increase recycling rates and reduce our carbon footprint
we must apply the waste hierarchy
we must comply with government's future legislation
the current service does not encourage waste minimisation because it offers unlimited collections of general waste
we must offer a wider range of recycling services
we must work with our Hampshire partners
we must provide the safest working practices for our staff and meet regulatory standards
we must improve the cleanliness of the district's streets
we must reduce the quantity of single-use sacks distributed per year
we need a collection system that allows us to provide feedback directly to residents when services are used incorrectly

Our objectives

This strategy has four main objectives:

Minimise carbon impact of waste/recycling service.
Increase quality and quantity of recycling.
Reduce levels of overall household waste.
Legislative and regulatory compliance.

Our actions

These actions are focused on the upper tier of the waste hierarchy namely waste prevention, reuse and recycling.

Restricting household general waste capacity through the introduction of wheeled bins.
Collect general waste fortnightly to encourage waste reduction practices.
Introduce an effective side waste policy to support actions 1 and 2.
Promote home composting.
Promote food waste reduction.
Implement a waste reduction plan.
Increase reuse and repair of bulky items.
Increase textile reuse.
Introduce a separate weekly food waste collection service.
Increase the range of dry materials that we collect from the kerbside.
Provide wheeled bins for mixed dry recyclable materials and a reusable sack to separate paper and cardboard.
Review bring site provision across the district.
Provide wheeled bins for garden waste customers.

Our core new service will be provided to the majority of our residents. For properties unsuitable for the core collection service, the service will be varied.

The core new service will include:

New food waste collections

Food waste will be collected weekly for recycling.

We will provide a 7 litre caddy which can be used in kitchens, and a 23 litre caddy for collections.

The collection will be for food waste only, not including any food waste packaging.

Alternate week collections of mixed recycling and general waste

Mixed recycling, and paper and card, will be collected one week.

General waste will be collected the next.

Mixed recycling will be added to an 180 litre wheeled bin.

Mixed recycling will include:

plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays and film
metal tins and cans
glass bottles and jars

Beverage cartons may also be collected as mixed recycling, subject to government requirements.

Paper and card will be collected in a 90 litre reusable bag. The bag will be waterproof and weighted.

Items which cannot be recycled will be collected as general waste in an 180 litre wheeled bin.

Garden waste collections

We will continue to provide our fortnightly subscription service for garden waste collections.

Garden waste will be collected in a 240 litre wheeled bin.

Collection policy

For a new collection service, a new collection policy will be put in place. This will refine some of our actions by defining operating procedures, alternative arrangements for certain property types, container sizes, and associated policies such as side waste, assisted collections and allowances for larger households.

We will:

continue to provide an assisted collection service for residents that cannot present their waste at the kerbside
provide larger containers for larger households
survey properties and vary the service where necessary, which may include the retention of sacks and the use of different containers for some properties

Our targets

We will measure our success and track our progress via some key performance indicators, and aim for:

reduce our carbon impact with an improved emissions savings of 1,000 tonnes, or 9%
provide a service that is compliant with all relevant legislation and statutory guidance
reduce household waste per head of population by 5%, compared with 2020-2021
meeting the current UK recycling rate target of 55% by 2025 Achieve a reduction in general waste of 30% compared with 2020-21
achieve a level of contamination less than 5% of the total recycling collected