Residents urged to give views over bin collections

Recycling rates in Walsall borough are average for the West Midlands region at 32%

Residents have been invited to have their say about the future of bin collections in Walsall.

Changes to waste collection services, including bringing in weekly food waste collections, were among plans, according to a council report.

They include opening a new 'super tip' later this year, formally known as the Middlemore Lane Household Waste Recycling Centre.

The consultation period will run until 21 August. In the council's draft waste strategy report, it noted that residents are creating 383.2kg of waste per resident per year, more than other West Midlands authorities and England's national average.

While the figure is higher compared to other councils, it is lower than the 2014/15 amount where each person produced 410kg a year.

Recycling rates in the borough are average for the West Midlands region at 32%, whereas top performing authorities in England recycle more than 60% of their waste.

'Must do more'

Earlier this year, before Mike Bird became leader of Walsall Council, he had criticised it for not choosing to invest in an anaerobic digestion machine in order to collect food and garden waste together in a brown bin.

Cabinet members at the time rejected the recommendation, as combining food waste with garden waste was found to be 'considerably more expensive' and had not been 'tried and tested'.

Speaking in June after being chosen as leader of the Conservative group, Bird said he would review the mandatory food waste collections scheme, which has been 'utterly unpopular' and 'look at alternatives'.

The draft strategy states that in 2027, collections would be put in place for film packaging and plastic bags for households and businesses and the Deposit Return Scheme is to be introduced.

The DRS is a government initiative where people buying plastic bottles and cans will have to pay an additional deposit, which is refunded when the empty container is returned to a collection point.

Council portfolio holder for street scene Suky Samra said: "This is about building a cleaner, greener and more sustainable borough together.

"We've made progress in recent years - but we know we must do more."

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.