BASILDON Council has launched a consultation focusing on proposals for non-recyclable waste collections, to help support the council's waste strategy and climate change ambitions.  

The consultation focuses on residents' response to proposals for non-recyclable waste collections via a 180-litre wheeled bin, those being: collecting non-recyclable waste on a fortnightly basis, keeping weekly collections for properties that have communal shared bins, providing additional or larger bins for properties that require more waste capacity, and retaining a sack collection for areas that are not suitable for wheeled bin collections.

The proposed modernisation of how waste is collected will place greater emphasis on households recycling their waste via our weekly food waste and pink sack collections, helping to reduce the environmental impact and carbon footprint of the borough, and aiding in our commitment to achieving carbon net zero emissions as a council by 2030 and as a borough by 2050.  

Cabinet member for environment and carbon reduction, Cllr Kevin Blake said: "As a borough we still send a significant amount of waste to landfill and not enough for recycling – this needs to improve.  

"We are already introducing a wheeled bin for non-recyclable waste and a reusable sack for recycling from October – which will help clean up our streets of split bags and cut out the ten-million single-use pick sacks used in the borough each year.

"We also introduced separate weekly food waste collections in October 2022, with the food waste we've collected since already being enough to power over 2,200 homes with renewable energy. On top of this, we have stopped the same amount of Co2 emissions produced by over 1,800 diesel cars if that food waste had gone in a black sack to landfill.

"We want to have the same improved environmental impact across all of our waste services, and this engagement exercise is a part of that. Please take part and share your views."  

Around 44% of household waste in the borough is currently recycled, but the council is calling on residents to help increase this to at least 55% by 2025. The proposed modernisation would help to significantly decrease the amount we send to landfill and significantly increase the amount we send for recycling.  

The proposals could also lead to a 20% reduction in non-recyclable waste going to landfill and up to a 43% reduction in Co2 emissions produced in our borough.  

The consultation is live now at www.basildon.gov.uk/wasteconsultation and will run for four weeks, closing at 11.59pm on Sunday, 26 February.