Weekly recycling collections trial postponed
LDRSAT A GLANCE
- A weekly recycling collection trial in mid Devon has been put on hold
- It has been postponed to allow further evaluation of the three-weekly black bin waste collections which started at the end of last year
- The trial would have cost the council £30,000
A trial of a weekly recycling collection in mid Devon has been put on hold.
It had been approved by Mid Devon District Council before the Liberal Democrats won a majority in May.
The trial has been postponed to allow further evaluation of the three-weekly black bin waste collections which began in October 2022.
The trial was set to cost the local authority £30,000.
The Bin-it 123 scheme has resulted in an increased recycling rate of 4.5%, figures show.
The recycling rate from the standard fortnightly collections is now 59%, the council said.
However Darren Beer, operations manager for street scene and open spaces, said there was a “persistent minority” holding back the county's environmental performance, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.
He said crews have also collected waste left alongside wheelie bins (side waste) for the last nine months, to help embed the recycling scheme, but many households were still putting recyclable material in black bin liners and bins instead of the appropriate containers.
“In looking at other local authorities' bin collection schemes, very few, if any, collect side waste, as the practice directly contradicts the policy of increasing recycling,” he said.
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