Cornwall wheelie bins move a step closer
It's nearly a done deal
Richard WhitehouseLocal Democracy Reporter
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Wheelie bins should be given to every household in Cornwall that can use them, councillors have agreed.
Cornwall Council's neighbourhoods overview and scrutiny committee met this afternoon to make a recommendation on how rubbish and recycling should be stored for collection.
The council has reviewed the waste and recycling containers ahead of a new waste collection contract which will run from April 2020. Under that contract the council is looking to introduce a weekly recycling and food waste collection service with all other waste being collected fortnightly.
After carrying out an extensive waste inquiry, which saw witnesses from councils from other authorities in England and Wales give advice from their experience, the committee has made its final choices.
Cornwall Council plans to give everyone a wheelie bin
Councillors have recommended that all households that can accommodate them should receive a 180-litre wheelie bin along with bags and boxes for recycling and two food waste caddies.
Households which can not store a wheelie bin will be given a 180-litre seagull-proof sack. The committee has also agreed that there will be some households which will need bespoke arrangements for waste collection and these will be addressed.
Council officers have said that 70% of homes in Cornwall should be able to use wheelie bins. The new collection contract will restrict households to only using the wheelie bins or seagull sacks for their waste with no additional waste being collected.
For the food waste caddies the committee recommended that the council should provide biodegradable liners to households for the first year, after which householders would have to buy their own.
Seagull-proof bags given out in Camborne as part of Cornwall Council pilot scheme to reduce mess on bin day
Initially it had been suggested that the council should provide plastic liners as vice-chair Dominic Fairman said that contractors had indicated that these were easier to separate from food waste, whereas biodegradable corn starch liners were harder to use.
However councillors said that it would be a contradiction if the council was trying to discourage people from using plastic and then issuing single use plastic bags itself.
The committee also heard that the food caddy liners were optional and households were able to go without and just wash out the caddies once emptied.
Councillors were told that if it was decided to go ahead with the container choices then these would be presented to bidders for the waste collection contract to work into their services.
Peter Marsh, service director for the environment, said that once the contract had been issued there would be a nine-month lead-in before the contract started. This would allow time to ensure that the system works.
Seagull-proof rubbish bags are currently being trialled in Camborne (Image: Sally Adams)
He said: "We don't want to be putting in provisions that don't actually work on the ground. We won't get all of it right first time, but we will be pragmatic and we will be sensible."
Mr Marsh added: "We will have the nine-month lead-in time so we will be able to get the containers and the vehicles ready and make sure that it all works.
"We will not be, on April 1, handing out 275,000 wheelie bins."
He said there would be a phased roll-out of the wheelie bins.
Malcolm Brown, leader of the Liberal Democrat group at County Hall, said there was another reason why the new waste collection service had to be right.
'It's all rubbish' is the angry response to the council's new wheelie bin plans
He said: "We are talking 2020 to 2021 here. 2021 is the year of elections. What everyone on this panel wants is a smooth transition in the run up to the elections."
However Labour councillor Cornelius Olivier responded saying: "Opposition councillors may not want the transition to be smooth."
Cllr Olivier also said he was "sceptical" of the arrangements and voted against the recommendations for the containers.
He said he wasn't convinced that wheelie bins would help to achieve the council's aim of boosting recycling rates.
Cllr Fairman said that all the evidence which was heard during the committee's inquiry suggested that it would.
The council agreed to the recommendations. The final decision on rubbish and waste containers has been delegated to Sue James, Cabinet member for environment and public protection.