Rubbish - council considers options

Following the introduction of plastic and card recycling across Wiltshire the council is now considering what to do next to improve recycling rates and minimise the amount of waste going into landfill. A report to the Environment Committee sets out the options.

Some things are happening already - the Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) plant at Westbury will take 60,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of West Wiltshire's waste as of September 2013, and Wiltshire currently sends 50,000 tpa to Slough to be incinerated.

The contract with Hills Waste ends in 2016 and this gives a chance to look at the terms of the replacement contract and to change the way things are done or to add new requirements.

Such possibilites include:

- introducing a food waste collection

- changing the number or type of receptacles. For example if people could put all recyclables into one bin they would recycle more, but the council then has more work and expense to separate the different materials.

- make people pay for garden waste collection, and/or change the collection routine to allow for the fact that far more garden waste is produced in summer than in winter.

- charging people to use Household Recycling Centres (HRCs).

- accepting trade waste at HRCs.

- working with charities, for example in recycling furniture.