The way people will have their waste collected in Knowsley is set for a big change in the coming years.
People will be asked to start separating their food waste for a separate collection, in addition to three waste collections already in effect in Knowsley, by 2025.
Speaking at a meeting of Knowsley Council’s climate emergency scrutiny committee tonight, January 26, where the borough’s waste management strategy was being discussed, interim assistant director of neighbourhoods Denise Best said the introduction of food waste collections will come into force by 2025.
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Ms Best said with the introduction of the new Environment Bill, the government has told local authorities who already have a food waste collection service, it will need to be fully in effect across homes by 2023/24 – while those without existing services like Knowsley have been given a years’ extension.
She added that while recycling in Knowsley, primarily through use of the borough’s recyclable waste bin collections, has risen significantly since 2005 from under 13% to 30-50%, this number has “plateaued” in recent years.
Ms Best says in part this is due to the effects of austerity limiting the council’s ability to introduce more recyclable waste collections or to carry out extensive communication campaigns to educate residents on the benefits of recycling.
As well as the introduction of a new food waste service, other measures which are due to be implemented across the country in coming years will include the introduction of a deposit return scheme.
The deposit return scheme will involve an additional charge on plastic drinks will be refunded once people return the plastic bottles to designate collection facilities- should help to reduce the amount of waste in household collections.
A greater variety of items will also be collected for recycling, although Ms Best said that with the requirement for some of these items to be separated “kerb side” Knowsley, alongside other local councils have been “pushing back” at the government as to how these requirements would be practically achievable.
Ms Best said however that among the measures being brought in, the introduction of food waste collection will be “one of the biggest changes” residents in Knowsley will see over the next five years, and one of the measures she says she hopes will go some way to helping reduce the borough’s ever growing waste burden.
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