New legislation will prohibit bio-degradable waste going to landfill, which will see our disposal costs rise. A new deposit return scheme will also reduce our recycling income. We have therefore undertaken a review of our waste management service to identify where we can reduce costs and increase income. We have also taken a lead from our Children and Young People’s Cabinet, who considered how we can reduce landfill and recycle more at their Climate Change Conference in November last year.
Our review proposes the following measures:
- stopping separate weekly collection of absorbent hygiene products (nappy and medical waste) – these will be collected through the normal residual collection service
- introducing an annual £30 charge per bin for garden waste collection commencing in March 2021
It takes our refuse collectors longer to provide an assisted collection service and we are asking for your support by helping any neighbour who may need assistance to bring their bins to the kerbside.
We estimate that our disposal costs could increase by around £1million per annum within the next two years. We also recognise the negative impact that food waste, in particular, has on the environment. We all have a collective responsibility to protect our environment and do everything we can to reduce waste disposal by recycling more.
A further Vibrant Voices conversation will be held later in the year on how we can improve recycling rates across East Ayrshire. We will consider a range of options, including a move to four weekly residual waste collections as part of this exercise.
Full details can be found in our Frequently Asked Questions.
How to comment
This consultation is now closed.
The 2020/21 budget was set at Council on 5 March 2020.