Brent Council has announced sweeping changes to rubbish collections set to come into force in the Autumn.
From October many Brent residents will have to separate their recycling and have it collected on alternative weeks to achieve the council’s aim of being “carbon neutral by 2030”.
Following a trial of more than 5,000 households in the borough last year, residents living in properties with blue-lidded bins will be required to separate their card and paper from other recycling items, such as glass, metal, and plastic.
Currently, households put all their recycling in one bin, which is collected weekly by the council’s contractor, Veolia. However, the changes will mean residents will need to put cardboard and paper out one week to be picked up and other mixed recycling the next.
Those with blue-lidded recycling bins will be provided a free 90-litre reusable blue sack in August or September, which is to be used only for cardboard and paper. The existing bin will still be used for all other recycling, including glass, cans, and cartons.
One resident took to Twitter to suggest that the changes will be “really difficult to undertake”. They said: “We have an overcrowded kitchen & have nowhere to put another bag. Already sorting organic food waste, general recycling & normal bin! Apart from space, who has the time?! We support recycling but this is unworkable!”
The new scheme will impact roughly 84,000 properties in the borough, which will have to separate their recycling when it comes into force from October 1. Brent Council says the changes will “increase our recycling rate” as putting waste into single material streams is the most effective way to recycle.
Cabinet Member for Environment, Infrastructure and Climate Action, Cllr Krupa Sheth, said: “These changes have been shown to increase recycling rates, which is better for the environment and will help us work towards our ambitious target of becoming carbon neutral by 2030.”
She added: “The changes also put us ahead of other boroughs who will be expected to make the same changes in the future as it is part of wider government legislation. Thank you to the residents who took part in our consultation last year, to those that took part in the trial, and to those who will now separate their recycling, doing their bit for the environment.”
