It is not a war on waste, but rather a war over waste.
Two petitions against Camden council’s new waste collection measures have reached a combined total of over 3,000 signatories.
On 1st April, the council will start a new 8-year environment service contract with French company, Veolia.
The new contract will introduce changes to the current waste collection services, changes which petitioners are hoping to revert.
Credit:
Reduced collections
The council is reducing waste collections for one third of the borough, with a collection every two weeks instead of every week. The rest of the borough will continue to have a weekly collection service.
Cllr Oliver Cooper, Conservative representative for Hampstead Heath thinks that this new measure is ‘unfair’ and will create a ‘divide’ between north and south Camden, with the majority of fortnightly services concentrated in the north.
‘People pay the same amount of Council tax,’ Cllr Cooper said ‘and the people in the area that are having it cut do their bit in recycling. Well, I think it’s unfair’.
Cllr Don Williams, Conservative representative for Swiss Cottage said,
‘They are targeting the more expensive parts of Camden – the places that actually pay their council tax – while leaving the parts that are reliant on council funding.’
But the council says that the decision was made based on street profiles, and not social class.
‘We made the decision on the frequency of rubbish collections by looking at all properties on a street rather than individual properties.’
Streets that have enough space to accommodate a 240 litre wheelie bin will have a fortnightly service, streets that have enough room for a 140litre wheelie bin will have a weekly service.
The council website states that 76% of UK boroughs now provide fortnightly services, but it does not state whether different streets have different collection frequencies in these boroughs.
The wards mainly affected by the reduction in services are north and west of Camden town: Frognal and Fitzjohns, Swiss Cottage, West Hampstead, Belsize Gospel Oak, Hampstead Town and Highgate and Hilburn.
Most areas south of the Camden Town will still have a weekly service: Bloomsbury, Regent’s Park, King’s Cross, St. Pancras, Somers Town and Holborn, and Covent Garden.
For households with fortnightly collections, there will be a limit of 240 litres or 4 Council waste bags per week.
Households with weekly collections will be restricted to 120 litres or 2 Council waste bags per week.
Cllr Cooper thinks that these limits are inappropriate.
‘Clearly a family with two kid will produce more waste than a single person…we need flexibility’
Ms. Learmond-Criqui has started a petition against the changes, called ‘What a Load of Rubbish’.
She has racked up 304 signatures online since launching the petition two weeks ago. She too thinks that limits on waste are counter-productive.
But the council has said that it will collect extra bags of recyclable material if they are ‘placed neatly next to your recycling containers in either clear bags…or in a cardboard box’. However, extra non-recyclable waste will not be collected.
Garden waste fees
For garden waste collections, residents will have to pay a fee of £60 for 9 months’ service or £75 for 12 months’ service. The council says that it is too expensive to offer a free collection service to households for garden waste collections as only 20% of households in the borough have a garden.
Improve recycling
By reducing non-recyclable collections, the council is hoping to encourage people to recycle. At present, only 25% of waste in the borough is recycled, according to council statistics. The council is hoping that the changes in collection services will boost that figure up to 40% by 2020.
And it is an achievable target.
In 2011, Haringey council introduced a fortnightly service with the same contractor, Veolia. Its recycling rate increased from 26% in 2011 to 38% in 2016, according to its website.
The council is also hoping to save money. It estimates that the new measures will save the taxpayer £5 million per year.
In a statement, Cllr Meric Apak, Cabinet Member for Sustainability and Environment said: ‘It costs the council far less to process recyclable materials, so by boosting recycling rates the council is not only helping the environment, but saving money’.
But Camden Conservatives dispute this figure. They say that the council is only saving £821,000 a year.
War over waste
With the start date for the new services looming, Camden Conservatives and Ms. Learmond-Criqui are hoping to get as many signatories as possible. They plan on presenting their petitions to the council at its next meeting at the end of March. The war over waste rages on.
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It is not a war on waste, but rather a war over waste.
Two petitions against Camden council’s new waste collection measures have reached a combined total of over 3,000 signatories.
On 1st April, the council will start a new 8-year environment service contract with French company, Veolia.
The new contract will introduce changes to the current waste collection services, changes which petitioners are hoping to revert.
Credit:
Reduced collections
The council is reducing waste collections for one third of the borough, with a collection every two weeks instead of every week. The rest of the borough will continue to have a weekly collection service.
Cllr Oliver Cooper, Conservative representative for Hampstead Heath thinks that this new measure is ‘unfair’ and will create a ‘divide’ between north and south Camden, with the majority of fortnightly services concentrated in the north.
‘People pay the same amount of Council tax,’ Cllr Cooper said ‘and the people in the area that are having it cut do their bit in recycling. Well, I think it’s unfair’.
Cllr Don Williams, Conservative representative for Swiss Cottage said,
‘They are targeting the more expensive parts of Camden – the places that actually pay their council tax – while leaving the parts that are reliant on council funding.’
But the council says that the decision was made based on street profiles, and not social class.
‘We made the decision on the frequency of rubbish collections by looking at all properties on a street rather than individual properties.’
Streets that have enough space to accommodate a 240 litre wheelie bin will have a fortnightly service, streets that have enough room for a 140litre wheelie bin will have a weekly service.
The council website states that 76% of UK boroughs now provide fortnightly services, but it does not state whether different streets have different collection frequencies in these boroughs.
The wards mainly affected by the reduction in services are north and west of Camden town: Frognal and Fitzjohns, Swiss Cottage, West Hampstead, Belsize Gospel Oak, Hampstead Town and Highgate and Hilburn.
Most areas south of the Camden Town will still have a weekly service: Bloomsbury, Regent’s Park, King’s Cross, St. Pancras, Somers Town and Holborn, and Covent Garden.
For households with fortnightly collections, there will be a limit of 240 litres or 4 Council waste bags per week.
Households with weekly collections will be restricted to 120 litres or 2 Council waste bags per week.
Cllr Cooper thinks that these limits are inappropriate.
‘Clearly a family with two kid will produce more waste than a single person…we need flexibility’
Ms. Learmond-Criqui has started a petition against the changes, called ‘What a Load of Rubbish’.
She has racked up 304 signatures online since launching the petition two weeks ago. She too thinks that limits on waste are counter-productive.
But the council has said that it will collect extra bags of recyclable material if they are ‘placed neatly next to your recycling containers in either clear bags…or in a cardboard box’. However, extra non-recyclable waste will not be collected.
Garden waste fees
For garden waste collections, residents will have to pay a fee of £60 for 9 months’ service or £75 for 12 months’ service. The council says that it is too expensive to offer a free collection service to households for garden waste collections as only 20% of households in the borough have a garden.
Improve recycling
By reducing non-recyclable collections, the council is hoping to encourage people to recycle. At present, only 25% of waste in the borough is recycled, according to council statistics. The council is hoping that the changes in collection services will boost that figure up to 40% by 2020.
And it is an achievable target.
In 2011, Haringey council introduced a fortnightly service with the same contractor, Veolia. Its recycling rate increased from 26% in 2011 to 38% in 2016, according to its website.
The council is also hoping to save money. It estimates that the new measures will save the taxpayer £5 million per year.
In a statement, Cllr Meric Apak, Cabinet Member for Sustainability and Environment said: ‘It costs the council far less to process recyclable materials, so by boosting recycling rates the council is not only helping the environment, but saving money’.
But Camden Conservatives dispute this figure. They say that the council is only saving £821,000 a year.
War over waste
With the start date for the new services looming, Camden Conservatives and Ms. Learmond-Criqui are hoping to get as many signatories as possible. They plan on presenting their petitions to the council at its next meeting at the end of March. The war over waste rages on.
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