Residents have rubbished Cheshire East’s plans to introduce three-weekly black bin collections, with 84% opposing the scheme in a recent public consultation.
The council has said that collecting household waste bins every three weeks instead of fortnightly might be the only way it can fund its legal requirement to introduce weekly food waste pick-ups by April 2026, (writes local democracy reporter Belinda Ryan).
Cheshire East estimates the weekly food collections will cost the council an extra £1.5m a year.
The Government currently does not support three-weekly collections and whopping 84% of the 6,257 people who aired their views in the consultation were also opposed to three-weekly black bin collections.
A report that summarised the responses to the consultation said: “Many respondents stated that they already struggle with a two-weekly collection and were concerned that a move to three-weekly black bin collections would lead to an increase in vermin, pests and smells due to overflowing bins and certain waste products being left within the bins for a longer period.
“An increase in fly-tipping and contamination of other bins were also raised as concerns, especially since the recent closure of some of the local HWRC sites [tips] and the introduction of the booking system at the weekend.”
There were also concerns the change would impact some people more than others including:
• Larger families, those with younger children, those with medical needs or disabilities and those with pets;
• Elderly residents and those with certain disabilities, due to a more complicated waste schedule and heavier bins, which could lead to missed bin collections;
• Residents who had opted for a smaller bin paying for a standard / larger bin, which was seen as unfair;
• Those in rural areas due to an increased possibility of vermin, fly-tipping and difficulty for the waste trucks accessing properties, which leads to missed bin collections;
• those in terraced housing or housing with little outdoor space – some areas do not have wheelie bins and instead will have an increase in the amount of black bin bags cluttering up the area; and
• People living in communal properties such as flats and houses of multiple occupancy.
Residents also trashed the council’s suggestion of investing in additional waste educational specialists, enforcement officers and adopting wider enforcement powers to clean up any issues that may arise from the reduction in collections.
Sixty nine% disliked this “draconian” approach, saying they would rather see the funds spent on waste collection.
Thirteen% of respondents were in favour of the change to three-weekly collections, feeling it would be a positive move in increasing recycling rates and it made sense as the most cost-effective option.
Scheme
The consultation was carried out in light of the Simpler Recycling Scheme legislation announced by the previous Government October 2023. This legislation means that all local authorities must collect food waste from residents on a weekly basis by no later than 1st April 2026.
However, councils do no know how much funding they will receive from Government to compensate them for introducing the changes, which are forecast to be an additional £1.5 million a year.
Cheshire East says there is a “significant risk” that the funding won’t cover the costs in full.
The council favours a weekly food waste collection, collected in a kerbside caddy / container along with the garden waste in the same vehicle one week, and separately by a dedicated small vehicle on the alternate weeks. A three-weekly black bin waste collection would be introduced to balance the extra work.
The other options were the weekly food waste collections with a small vehicle on alternate weeks and fortnightly black bin collection; weekly food waste collection by a dedicated small vehicle, separately from the fortnightly garden waste, with fortnightly black bin collection; and weekly food waste collection by a dedicated small vehicle and three-weekly black bin waste collection.
Some 77% of people strongly opposed the council suggestion, with 6% merely opposed; 71% of one-person households opposed the preferred option, rising to 94% in households with five or more people.
The survey also asked what the council could do to support those households who might be negatively impacted by the switch to three-weekly collections, with the most common response “Stick with fortnightly collection”.
