Bin collections: Recycling changes delayed until after local elections

The UK government says its reforms will make recycling easier and more consistent across England

A UK government announcement on plans to impose consistent waste collection rules in England has been delayed until after the upcoming local elections.

Under the reforms, councils could be required to collect six different types of recyclable waste separately.

The new policy was due to be made public last month, almost two years after the launch of a consultation on waste consistency.

Councils had warned the changes could prove costly, chaotic and unworkable.

But the government argues that standardisation will make recycling easier, increase recycling rates, and help eliminate avoidable waste by 2050.

"We have held a public consultation on the proposed changes and will announce further details soon," a spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said.

The BBC was told the details of the waste overhaul had almost been finalised, but there was not enough time to make the announcement ahead of the local elections in May.

Government guidance says there may be cases when it is better to delay policy announcements that could have a political influence during a pre-election period.

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The Labour leader of Cheshire East Council, Sam Corcoran, said he feared the announcement had been delayed because the government "realised how unpopular the changes will be and are seeking to implement them after the elections".

"The proposals should be scrapped completely," Mr Corcoran said.

Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay said local authorities "have waited years for an agreed approach to collecting recyclable waste".

"Further delay shows yet again this government is dodging action, afraid of upsetting Conservative councils and not treating this critical environmental issue with the priority needed," Mr Ramsay said.

Conservative MP Sir Robert Goodwill, chairman of the Defra parliamentary committee, said the policy announcement may have been delayed for practical reasons, such constraints on government time ahead of the elections.

But he said ministers should "think it through given the initial local reaction from local authorities", adding, "I don't think they've listened to industry enough."

'Period of stasis'

The government has been working out how these waste reforms would work in practice since the Environment Act became law in 2021.

The act requires the collection of six recyclable waste streams from households, including plastics, metal, glass, paper and card, food waste and garden waste. In theory, that could mean separate bins for each type of waste.

There will be a duty for councils to collect the recyclable waste streams separately unless it is not technically or economically practicable, or there is no significant environmental benefit in doing so.

Under the plans, councils will also need to collect food waste weekly, as well as offer a basic free service to remove garden waste.

The new policies will not apply in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, where devolved administrations decide how to manage their waste.

The delay "has put many councils in a period of stasis", said Charlotte Paine, the head of operational services at the Conservative-controlled South Holland Council in Lincolnshire.

She said there was "concern that when the response is released, the timetable for delivery will not have altered and could create an impossible situation to conceive of delivering a whole new service".

The Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM), which represents professionals in the industry, said the uncertainty made it difficult for its members to prepare for the "significant changes" these reforms will bring.

"The resources and waste sector is geared up and ready to push ahead with these policy reforms as we can see the benefits they will bring, but we need the starting gun to be fired first," Lee Marshall, policy director at CIWM, said.

Mixed recycling

Councils are particularly worried the reforms will make it more difficult to collect recyclable waste in one bin or bag, a practice known as commingling.

In a system of commingled recycling, dry and clean materials - such glass, metal, paper, and plastics - can be put in one bin and collected by a single lorry.

Six of the top 10 recycling councils have commingled waste, according to analysis by the District Councils' Network, a lobby group.

"This suggests that existing collection systems are producing the strongest results," the group said.

Three Rivers District Council in Hertfordshire, which has a commingling system, came top of the recycling league table in 2021-22.

The council's Liberal Democrat leader, Sarah Nelmes, said the government's reforms could reduce local freedom to deliver services that are already effective.

"Any further delay makes this even harder and forces councils to wait even longer before they can take decisions on how best to improve services," Ms Nelmes said. "After two years of limbo, we need clarity urgently."