Council’s new Waste Strategy to be debated by Full Council

8 July 2021

Cheshire West and Chester Council’s vision for a greener and more environmentally-friendly waste collection service will be presented to the authority’s informal Full Council next week.

The new Waste Management Strategy seeks to respond to the challenges of climate change by supporting residents in reducing the amount of waste they produce and recycling more.

The strategy, which will run for the next 20 years, has already been approved by the Council’s Cabinet and now faces the final hurdle of being debated by all councillors.

Due to the rising number of COVID infections in the borough and the need to keep everyone safe, the authority has decided to hold the Full Council meeting on Thursday 15 July remotely, rather than meeting in person.

Government regulations mean that the decision to adopt the new Waste Management Strategy will be taken by the Council’s Chief Executive following a debate by members.

The new model seeks to provide a fairer and more efficient waste and recycling service that will give great value for money.

It will also help the authority reduce significant cost pressures on the service due to cuts to the Council’s budget.

The key recommendations include:

Household waste collected fortnightly using a 180 litre wheeled bin (as per the current arrangement).

Two larger capacity recycling bins on wheels collected fortnightly to replace existing 55-litre boxes.

Food waste will be collected weekly using the existing small food bin (as per the current arrangement).

The Council would introduce an optional chargeable garden waste collection service over 40 weeks of the year, covering the ‘growing season’ between March and November.

There would be a charge of £40 per year per container for green waste collections. This equates to £2 per collection and is in line with the current additional capacity charge. Residents will be able to choose to pay for this service or to make alternative arrangements.

The garden waste collections continue fortnightly, in line with the frequency of the proposed kerbside collection service.

Alternative arrangements will be made for properties that cannot accommodate the new service.

If adopted, the new service would reduce carbon emissions by 220,000kg a year and reduce the cost pressures on the service by almost £1m.

Cheshire West and Chester Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment, Highways and Strategic Transport, Cllr Karen Shore, said: “Our current Waste Strategy is nearly 20 years old and no longer meets the challenges we face as a community.

“The new Waste Management Strategy provides the borough with a solution that will help us to meet our climate change commitments and the budget pressures we face.

“We have consulted widely on our plans for the new strategy, we have listened to what people have said and we have used this information to develop our plan.

“Some of the decisions we have made have been extremely difficult but they have been made in the interests of our borough. The Council cannot resolve all the issues we face on its own, which is why we are asking people in our borough to work with us and contribute a little more.

“We know our residents want to work together for a greener future. We know they want less waste and more recycling. We will continue to listen to our residents and work with them throughout this process.”

If the new Waste Management Strategy is approved following Full Council, it will be implemented from 2022 onwards.


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