An eight-week public consultation on proposed changes to waste services in Nottingham aimed at increasing recycling rates is set to take place between October and November.
The City Council’s draft Waste and Resources Strategy and Options Paper was discussed at a meeting of its Executive Board earlier this week, outlining how waste and recycling could be collected differently from homes and businesses in the city in a bid to meet Government targets.
It was agreed that to help finalise the strategy, developed alongside specialist partners, a consultation exercise will be undertaken to give residents, businesses and organisations in the city a chance to provide their views on how waste and recycling is collected and disposed of. After the consultation, the feedback will be independently reviewed and used to inform the final strategy.
The UK Government has set a national target to increase recycling rates across England to 65% by 2035 while keeping landfill rates below 10%. Nottingham is already a national leader in capturing energy from waste at the incinerator at Eastcroft Depot, and the city sends only around 8% of waste to landfill. However, recycling rates need to be improved significantly from the current level of 23.9% to reach the Government’s target.
Councillor Sally Longford, Portfolio Holder for Energy, Environment and Waste Services, said: “This new strategy gives us a real opportunity to improve the way we handle waste and recycling in Nottingham. While we’re leading the nation with our low landfill rates and our growing electric bin lorry fleet, we need to make improvements to our recycling efforts if we are to achieve the Government’s targets.
“Our draft strategy sets out how we will make changes to the waste and recycling collection in Nottingham to provide the best service to residents, businesses and organisations, while also improving our recycling rates.
“I would like to encourage everyone to tell us what they think of the proposed changes, if they have any concerns, and which route they would like us to take. Your views are extremely valuable and will allow us to create a plan that works for the city.”
A public consultation period will follow between October and November this year.