Hundreds of people have visited special stalls giving out information about options for future waste and recycling services in parts of Cumbria.
Westmorland & Furness Council is gathering views on how its waste and recycling collections should be delivered.
Staff from the waste engagement team set up stalls in street markets and community venues during June in Alston, Kendal, Barrow, Appleby, Penrith and Ulverston and were able to chat with over 300 people.
So far around 4,000 residents have completed a survey and provided feedback through the options consultation, sharing their views on options such as sizes of containers and frequency of collections.
Councillor Giles Archibald, Westmorland and Furness Council’s cabinet member for climate, biodiversity and environmental services, said: “We’ve already had a fantastic response to our community consultation and it was great to see so many people visit our market stall sessions during June.
“Some people had come specifically to speak to the team having seen the event advertised and some were just passing and saw the stall and came along for a chat and to ask questions.
“The team spoke to around 300 people, with the busiest day being at Penrith Market. During the market stall sessions more than 100 paper copies of the consultation survey were handed out and overall we’ve now had about 4,000 responses to our survey.
“We want to create a new single waste and recycling service for the whole of Westmorland and Furness, a service that makes it easier and more convenient for people to recycle more and waste less, and that is more reliable, cost-effective and better for the environment.
“We want to hear from as many people as possible before we finalise designs for the new-look services and we are determined to make sure these services work for our communities.”
The survey is open until July 11.
The options being consulted on now have been developed following feedback from an initial community conversation engagement at the end of last year, when nearly 3,000 people shared their thoughts on current waste and recycling collection services in their area – what they like, what they would like to change and what they would like to see in the future.
Thanks to that feedback, the council has been trialling different collection methods and containers, including a trial of co-mingled recycling in Ulverston and a trial of wheelie bins in parts of the Eden area that currently have bags for general waste collections.
The council has also started to roll out the kerbside collection of beverage cartons, such as Tetrapak, starting in the Eden area, after feedback that residents wanted to be able to recycle these items more easily.
The feedback from the current Options Consultation will be considered alongside independent assessment of factors such as how the options fit with national legislation, do they make services fairer, how would they impact the environment, whether they are sustainable and whether they could contribute to more efficient and cost-effective services.
The council stressed the proposals were only options at this stage.
Options for general waste
Do nothing
This option would not support the council’s aims to reduce waste and increase recycling, nor its vision to have a fair and equitable waste and recycling service and would mean current inconsistencies and differences between the three areas would remain.
Weekly collections
Just over half of residents currently receive weekly collections, but the capacity of the bins/bags used now is less than the capacity of 240 litre wheeled bins, which would be used if there were fortnightly collections. A weekly collection for everyone would be more costly as it will require additional vehicles and staffing and would increase carbon emissions.
Fortnightly collections
Almost half of residents currently receive fortnightly waste collections. This option would provide 240 litre wheelie bins for everyone. Using 240 litre wheelie bins would mean the capacity for general waste would remain the same or increase for everyone and the same volume of waste would be collected, but over a longer timeframe. This option would be more cost effective, requiring fewer vehicle journeys and resulting in reduced carbon emissions.
The initial assessment has suggested the option which has the best fit is fortnightly collections of general waste, the council said.
Options for recycling
Do nothing
This option would not support the council’s aims to reduce waste and increase recycling, nor its vision to have a fair and equitable waste and recycling service and would mean current inconsistencies and differences between the three areas would remain.
Weekly collections
The council does not currently offer weekly collections of recycling. The introduction of weekly recycling collections would result in a higher cost for the service. Although this may contribute to improved recycling rates, the environmental benefits of the improved recycling rates would be offset by the increase in vehicle journeys and associated carbon emissions.
Fortnightly collections
All residents receive fortnightly collections. There would be no significant change for residents.
Alternate fortnightly
Alternate fortnightly collections means that residents would receive one bin (paper and card) emptied one fortnight and the other bin (glass, metal, plastics) emptied the following fortnight. This would reduce the number of vehicles required and the associated journeys and carbon emissions.
The initial assessment has suggested the options which have the best fit are fortnightly and alternate fortnightly recycling collections, the council said.
Green waste
Do nothing
Some areas currently have a separate charge for green waste collections, in other areas there is currently no charge.
The ‘no change’ option would result in unequal levels of charges across Westmorland and Furness, based on different geographic locations. Harmonising arrangements would also help improve collection performance.
No charge
Having no separate charge for green waste and offering this service to all residents would add significant additional cost to delivering the service. It is estimated a no charge service for all residents would result in budget pressures for the service in the first year of around £500,000.
Partial or full charge
Introducing a harmonised charge – either a charge for each green bin collected, or one green bin collected at no charge, but having a charge for any additional green bins – would support improvement to service performance.
The council said all types of service – full or partial charge, or no charge – would use 240 litre wheelie bins, with fortnightly collection and the initial assessment has suggested the options which have the best fit are partial or full charge.
How will the decision be reached?
The feedback will be considered alongside independent assessment of factors such as how the options fit with national legislation, do they make services fairer, how would they impact the environment, whether they are sustainable and whether they could contribute to more efficient and cost-effective services.
Councillors will make a final decision on the new-look services later this year, with the first changes being rolled out by the end of this year.
For more information about the options and to complete the consultation survey, go to https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/wasteoptions
Paper copies of the survey are available in the receptions of the council’s main public buildings at Barrow Town Hall, Kendal Town Hall and Voreda House, Penrith, as well as council libraries.
What happens to Cumbria’s waste?
A final decision on the new-look services will be made later this year, with the first changes being rolled out by the end of 2025.
