One year on - rubbish and recycling collection changes a success

Changes to Stratford-on-Avon District Council's rubbish and recycling collections introduced a year ago have been a success, with figures showing a reduction in the amount of rubbish being disposed of and residents recycling more than two-thirds of all household waste collected in the District.

In the first year of operation, figures show that 68% of the District's rubbish has been recycled and 26% less residual waste was collected. 

During the period August 2022 to July 2023, 16,226 tonnes of residual waste was collected, which is 5,635 tonnes less than the same period the previous year.

The introduction of a separate weekly food waste collection service has seen 4,888 tonnes collected between August 2022 and July 2023.

The new 123+ waste collection service was introduced on 1 August 2022 to boost recycling rates and reduce the amount of general waste.

In Stratford-on-Avon District, the new waste contract introduced a separate weekly food waste collection service, ahead of pending legislation, using food caddies and a three-weekly refuse collection, whilst maintaining a fortnightly dry recycling collection service and a fortnightly chargeable garden waste collection service.

One year on, the figures show that the three-weekly refuse collection arrangements have reduced the amount of general rubbish each household puts out and has encouraged residents to recycle more.

Councillor Lorraine Grocott, Environmental and Neighbourhood Services Portfolio Holder, said: "Since the introduction of the new 123+ waste collection service last August, it has been encouraging to see how much of a positive difference residents' efforts and the hard work of council staff have made during the course of the last year. The results speak for themselves - showing a substantial decrease in the amount of material now going to landfill.  

"The service goes hand in hand with the council's commitments to tackling the issues around climate change and the environment. The new waste contract has helped to bring with it more efficient vehicles and smarter routing as well as changes to food waste collection processes, which reduces the volume of harmful greenhouse gases entering our waste streams.

"There is still more we can do to reduce our ecological impact and live more sustainably, but this has been an excellent start.  We've also been approached by other Councils, as we're seen as a market leader in this field."