The major government reform to waste collection in England could see households required to have as many as seven different waste collection bins each.
In a bid to make recycling rules more consistent across the country, the measures – which are set to be announced next month – would require all councils to collect paper, cardboard, metal, plastic, glass, garden waste and food waste separately.
Although the government has said there would be no legal requirement for this, under the new rules, councils would be required to provide a written assessment to allow them to remove “two or more of the recyclable waste streams together”.
Local councils are seriously not happy about the plans, calling them ‘unworkable’ and warning the scheme would cost hundreds of millions of pounds.
Bob Blackman, Conservative MP and member of the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities parliamentary committee told the Telegraph: “It would be of great concern if we end up with huge numbers of types of bins.
“That would be madness. In urban environments, people already have four sets of bins and to go beyond that would be absolutely crazy.”
A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs said: “We want to make recycling easier and ensure that there is a comprehensive, consistent service across England.
“This will help increase recycled material in the products we buy and boost a growing UK recycling industry.
“We have held a public consultation on the proposed changes and will announce further details shortly.”
