STRATFORD and Warwick look set to move to three weekly bin collections in a bid to encourage recycling.
Stratford District Council’s cabinet has approved a joint waste and recycling contract with Warwick District Council.
Part of the proposals include moving to a three weekly collection of household waste and two weekly collections of recyclable waste.
If given the green light the contract will begin in August 2022.
Stratford District Council operations spokesman Ian Shenton said: “This joint procurement process and contract with Warwick District Council is a sign of our ever closer working relationship which should benefit the residents of both districts.
“Our recycling rate at around 60 per cent and Warwick District Council’s of 55 per cent are well ahead of the government’s target of 50 per cent by this year. By moving to a approach with weekly food waste collections, two weekly recyclable waste collections and three weekly residual waste collections, we hope to build on the great efforts already made by our residents.
“The benefits of the new collection model, are increased recycling levels, reduced levels of waste going to landfill, separate food waste collections, more efficient use of refuse vehicles and reduction in mileage travelled through smarter routing especially on the border between Warwick and Stratford districts. This definitely addresses and takes into account the climate emergency agenda.
“The model will also see changes to the food waste collection by not entering the residual, recycling or green waste streams, instead the intention is for it to go to an anaerobic digester further removing harmful greenhouse gases from landfill. Food waste, in particular releases methane gas when decomposing and is up to 35 times worse than CO2 for our climate. This is a big step in reducing harmful greenhouse gases from our waste stream.
“This proposal is good for the environment as well as mitigating the inevitable increase in gate fees and waste disposal costs when the current contract expires in July 2022.”
Plans to work together on the waste contract come after Warwickshire County Council’s proposal for a single unitary authority were put on hold while Whitehall resources focused on tackling coronavirus.
Warwick and Stratford district councils already share management roles in ICT and neighbourhood services, and there is the prospect of a joint Local Plan for communities.
The waste contracts for both councils finish around the same time, and council leaders say this provides an opportunity to consider a combined service across the whole of south Warwickshire, serving 126,000 households.
The proposal will go to Warwick District Council’s executive on Wednesday (November 18).
