Council lifts lid on exciting recycling plans

New ways of collecting household waste are being proposed in the Harborough district which will make it easier for residents to recycle and allow more things to be collected.  

Harborough District Council is to decide on recommendations to develop and enhance its waste collection service which would see an improved service and the introduction of plastics recycling.

The aim is to give residents greater choice of what they can recycle from their kerbsides, improve the district’s recycling rate, help the environment, and improve cost-efficiency for the council.  

On November 7, councillors on the Executive committee will consider a move to a ‘co-mingled’ waste collection service.

A ‘co-mingled’ service involves the collection of materials in a single bin which are later sorted at the recycling facility. This is opposed to the existing system of sorting recyclable items into different boxes or bins at the kerbside.

The details of how the collections will be carried out are still to be worked through.  

It is hoped the move will boost Harborough district’s already impressive recycling rate even further, which is currently the best in Leicestershire and one of the best in the country.

Cllr Steve Charlish, who has responsibility for recycling at the district council, said: “We already have a strong reputation for recycling, however, there are financial pressures on the council making it necessary for new options to be considered which will benefit residents in terms of simplifying the system and allowing us to collect a lot more of the things they want to recycle. This could open the door to some exciting changes. We have also seen other councils which have been successful with similar changes.”

The full Executive report can be read on the council’s website from Friday, October 28th here