Thousands face potential bin and waste changes

Charges and smaller bins could be coming for thousands of households in Gloucestershire

Thousands of households across Cheltenham and Tewkesbury could soon face changes to their waste services.

The two local authorities are proposing a number of measures which include reducing the size of bins and introducing charges for replacement bins.

Both councils said, if passed, the changes will reduce costs, increase recycling rates and help move towards a uniform approach to waste policy for the county.

The deputy leader and cabinet member for environmental services at Tewkesbury Borough Council, Sarah Hands, said: “It’s a case of if you don’t have the capacity then you will look more in to how you get rid of those recyclable items."

Cheltenham Borough Council will meet on Tuesday to decide whether to roll out the new charges, while Tewkesbury Borough Council will also meet on Tuesday, with a final decision expected to be made in the autumn.

'Encourage less misuse'

Cabinet papers show Cheltenham Borough Council is proposing to introduce a charge for ordering new bins, recycling boxes, bags and caddies from 5 August.

Households can currently get replacement bins for free.

If passed, it will cost £4.99 to replace all recycling and waste bins. This will rise to £20 plus a delivery fee of £4.99 for any further requests for a large waste bin within two years. There will be a discount for households receiving certain benefits.

The council is also looking to introduce charges for collecting waste at registered Air BnB properties, and increasing charges for developers and landlords seeking new and replacement bins.

Cheltenham Borough Council’s annual waste budget is £6m, and it costs £211,500 a year to provide and maintain the bins and recycling vessels.

Cabinet Member for Waste, Recycling and Public Realm, Izaac Tailford, said the changes to replacement bins charges, delivery bills and landlord costs alone could save the authority up to £100,000 a year.

“The idea is that the change will encourage more care with the receptacles [bins] and less misuse,” he said.

It is hoped the proposals will increase recycling rates

In Tewkesbury the local council is considering whether to cut the size of its large waste bins from 180 to 140 litres.

If approved, the change will happen gradually, with new developments and replacement bins being switched to the smaller size, rather than a mass recall of all existing bins.

The authority said this will bring it in line with other Gloucestershire districts and will increase recycling rates.

Stroud District Council has already made the change to 140 litre waste bins and it has the highest rate of recycling in the county.

Ms Hands said the potential change would not save the authority any money, but it is hoped it could increase recycling rates.

“National statistics show people are more inclined to recycle their waste if they haven’t got a bigger residual refuse bin because they don’t have enough space to be putting items in which they could recycle,” she said.