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ALL change: the council looks set to introduce a fortnightly bin collection to replace the current weekly one, backed up with more recycling bins for households
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End in sight for weekly bin run
by Adam Derbyshire6/ 8/2008
FORTNIGHTLY black bin collections are set to be rolled out across Tameside.
Changes are on the way as town hall chiefs prepare to expand the trial schemes currently affecting 8,000 households in Stalybridge, Audenshaw, Newton, Werneth and Ashton’s St Albans ward.
The cost of collecting and burying our waste is spiralling out of control and council chiefs say they cannot sustain the amount of money being spent on landfills.
At the moment it costs Tameside Council around £2m a year to collect people’s rubbish and £8m a year to dispose of it.
All the money is taken from taxes and could be spent on providing other services, bosses say.
The ‘managed collections’ will see black bin collections limited to once a fortnight and different coloured bins for recycling given to all homes across the borough by next March.
Anyone refusing to recycle could potentially face a fine.
Robin Monk, head of environmental operations, said: "We want to approach this with a positive point of view. We want to carry people with us as opposed to going in heavy-handed. A fine would only be considered if someone is point-blank refusing to recycle.Everyone will have the correct bins in place before the collections are rolled out. People do have to manage their waste in a responsible manner. But the trials proved it can easily be done."
Councillor Cath Piddington, environment chief, was expected to rubber-stamp the proposals on Wednesday.By 2010, 30 per cent of all rubbish collected must be recycled or the council will be hit with huge costs to bury it in landfill sites.
Town hall chiefs want to force more people to recycle so they can meet the targets set by central government. And the borough is on course after figures revealed 26 tons of waste (27 per cent) is being diverted to recycling every week.
The government has set staggered recycling targets of 40 per cent by 2010, 45 per cent by 2015, before ultimately reaching 50 per cent by 2020. In the five trial areas the figures already hover between 45 and 55 per cent.
With recycling levels at the current level, 47,678 tonnes of carbon emissions are being saved annually.
Mr Monk added: "That puts us among the best in Europe."
Visit tamesideadvertiser.co.uk for an update on the council decision.
Most recent 2 of 11 user comments
If option 2 is the answer then Tameside might as well not bother emptying my black bin. I'll take it all to the tip myself. Can I opt out of bin collections and receive a refund on my council tax?
17/08/2008 at 12:16
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