Should councils charge extra for weekly bin collections?

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Under pressure to balance budgets and encourage recycling, most councils now collect fortnightly rather than weekly — should they charge extra for weekly pick-ups? We seek opposing views.
Household recycling and waste collections are essential services, but they can also be a highly emotive subject. It’svital that we help people understand the need for reducing their general (black-bag or residual) waste and the collections needed for it.
UK recycling rates went from 11 per cent in 2001 to 44 per cent in 2021, but have plateaued since. To ensure that we don’t run out of the resources we need, we must work to improve this figure — the government is aiming for 65 per cent and beyond.
It has been proven that reducing the frequency and therefore capacity of general waste services drives positive changes in behaviour. Indeed, evidence from leading local authorities shows that collecting general waste every three weeks significantly increases the capture of recyclable materials and reduces the amount of general waste produced.
Local authorities and their service partners have a tremendous depth of knowledge, expertise and experience in delivering waste and recycling services. We should recognise their ability to plan and provide the services best suited for their communities and to deliver best value.
Reducing general waste and increasing recycling has clear benefits in terms of addressing resource security and climate change. It also helps to control the costs to taxpayers because it is considerably cheaper to recycle material rather than dispose of it in landfill or by burning it in energy-from-waste plants, which on average cost £100-£130 a tonne. Dry mixed recycling can cost about £25 a tonne to process, though it can be a lot more depending on the material.
Once you have recycled paper, card, plastics, glass, metals, food and garden waste, there is very little left to go into your general waste. Bin space is therefore unlikely to be an issue unless people choose not to participate in the recycling services available to them.
• Ten bins per household ‘too much to ask’ in quest to recycle more
We all have a responsibility to manage our waste responsibly and to reduce the associated impacts. It’s not unreasonable to expect those who need extra collections because they disregard this responsibility to pay an additional charge, keeping the regular service the same cost for the majority of us who do the right thing.
I am sure most people wouldn’t appreciate being asked to contribute to their neighbours’ utility bills because they have left the heating on or the taps running.
The phrase “taxed enough already” has no better use than describing our relationship with local councils. The idea that we ought to pay an additional charge for what was always considered a core service from local authorities is simply absurd.
Despite research from the Taxpayers’ Alliance showing that council tax has increased 79 per cent in real terms since its introduction in 1993, town halls have continued to find new and creative ways to squeeze more and more out of local residents. Between the 2010-11 and 2021-22 tax years, the amount of income received by councils per house for waste collection and recycling increased 50 per cent.
Not only are councils charging local taxpayers more, but when it comes to waste collection in particular they are making life more complicated. Gone are the days of simply putting your rubbish in one bin, now some councils expect households to sift their waste into as many as ten separate containers. Some councils are already charging for waste collection, usually garden waste.
• The city where residents put out 13 bins
The simple fact of the matter is that, despite the rhetoric, most councils could provide weekly bin collections without additional charges if they put their minds to it. And it wouldn’t be that complicated. They just need to focus on providing their core services, keeping their staff bill under control and cutting out pointless pet projects.
In 2022-23 more than 3,000 council employees received remuneration of more than £100,000, while 829 got at least £150,000. In the last three financial years, councils spent £52 million on roles that promote equality, diversity and inclusion. Supposedly cash-strapped authorities found £5 million to splash on local “parklets”. One council, described as heading for bankruptcy, spent almost £400,000 on unisex toilets.
There is no doubt about it: the focus should be on getting rid of waste, not charging more to collect it. The refusal of councils to get their houses in order is no justification for demanding more from taxpayers to provide basic services. A weekly bin collection isn’t an unnecessary luxury, it’s an essential service that residents rightly expect. And given how much they’re already paying, it’s the least they deserve.