Council forces households to use ten bins for rubbish and recycling
20 August 2024, 13:15
Households in the Cotswolds have to sort their waste into ten different bins for rubbish collection and recycling, according to a survey.
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Cotswold District council is among several councils with the highest number of different bins.
Several councils across England and Wales tell people to sort their rubbish into as many as 11 different categories.
Blaenau Gwent, Cotswold and Merthyr Tydfil councils all collect ten bins. By contrast, Gosport collects just two, according to the survey by the TaxPayers’ Alliance.
In 2011, when the research was first conducted, Newcastle-under-Lyme issued the most bins, with residents given nine.
Some councils tell residents to divide their rubbish into as many as 11 different categories for collection. These are: general waste, dry mixed recycling, food waste, paper and card, garden waste, glass, plastics, batteries, textiles, waste electrics and coffee pods.
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The survey found a huge increase in councils charging to dispose of garden waste - almost 70 per cent of councils.
Under the Environment Act 2021, councils in England have to collect recyclable household waste separately from non-recyclable waste, with recyclable materials defined as glass, metal, plastic, paper and card and food waste.
John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “Councils are placing an enormous burden on households through the mind-bogglingly complex system of waste separation.
“Bin collection is one of the key services taxpayers are funding, yet in large parts of the country it’s the residents themselves responsible for much of the heavy-lifting.
A government spokesman said: “Recent proposals to simplify the system should be fully enacted across… the United Kingdom.
"We are committed to reducing waste and increasing recycling rates while making this process simpler for the public. Further announcements on delivering the recycling reforms will follow in due course.”
