Households in Southport and across Sefton will soon be given new 120 litre blue wheelie bins to recycle glass.
The bins will be delivered in February and March next year, ready for collections to begin next April.
They would be in addition to the current grey (non-recyclable waste), brown (recycling) and green (garden) wheelie bins and optional food caddies.
It is part of a number of changes coming for households under the new Environment Act, with compulsory food recycling due to be introduced soon.
Sefton Council’s Cabinet are expected to endorse the proposals when they meet tomorrow (Thursday, September 3).
If they give their backing, Sefton will order 100,000 blue wheelie bins, at a cost of £1.65million.
The additional service will cost an extra £185,000 per year to run, but by achieving higher recycling rates Sefton estimates it will receive an extra £400,000 per year in increased Recycling Credits from the Merseyside Waste Disposal Authority.
In his report, Head of Highways & Public Protection Peter Moore said: “The Government is asking for one ‘core’ item of recycling to be collected separately.
“Having reviewed the core items, due to weight of the product, the ease with which it can be separated and the potential for an income stream / recycling credits as a result, it is suggested that glass be removed from the current brown bin collection and collected separately, with effect March /April 2021, well ahead of any legislative requirement.
“By implementing this course of action the Council will meet its obligations under the Act and in addition, by not sending the collected glass to MRWA (Merseyside Waste & Recycling Authority) it offers the opportunity to claim credits off MRWA and a potential income stream to pay for the glass bins and defray costs of the new fleet of vehicles due in 2021.
“In order to meet the requirements of the new Environment Act it is proposed to procure the approximately 100,000 120 litre wheeled bins required to operate the above service, for delivery of the bins in February / March 2021 and commencement of the new glass collection and recycling service in March / April 2021.”
The Government’s Green Paper on the Future for Waste and Recycling for the next 30 years sets out an ambition to boost recycling rates and better protect the environment through major changes to recycling.
This would be done through compulsion (changes to the law), stealth (higher taxes on plastic related packaging etc) and peer pressure through the general public perception on safeguarding the environment.
Peter Moore wrote: ”For councils in England there are five main changes that Government intend to legislate for with a commencement date of 2024: compulsory collections of food waste to every residential property; garden waste collections to be free at source and form part of Council Tax; a minimum ‘core’ set of materials to be collected for recycling; standardisation of bin colours; and minimum standards of collection (ie weekly or fortnightly).”
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