Bins collection move to change habits of lifetime’
THE end of once-a-week bin collections will be changing people s habits of a lifetime . So said Cllr Lynda Needham during a presentation to Royston Town Council on Monday evening. Cllr Needham, North Herts District Council s portfolio holder on waste and
THE end of once-a-week bin collections will be "changing people's habits of a lifetime".
So said Cllr Lynda Needham during a presentation to Royston Town Council on Monday evening.
Cllr Needham, North Herts District Council's portfolio holder on waste and recycling, outlined the introduction of new alternate weekly bin collections. The new pattern of bin collections is due to begin in October.
The district council is to introduce kerbside collections for recycling waste at the same time.
Cllr Needham told members: "We are changing people's habits of a lifetime.
"There will have to be a change in people's perception of waste."
Most Read
- 1 Herts sex offender assaulted victim while she slept
- 2 Tractors take to the streets to raise money for hospital
- 3 Royston judoka Reid relishing Commonwealth Games chance
- 4 Royston Museum finally reopens following two-year closure
- 5 Royston Town Council declares climate emergency
- 6 'Hooded thieves' stole three vehicles
- 7 Plans for second multi-storey car park at Stevenage's Lister Hospital to help 'better meet demand'
- 8 Citizens Advice: Your rights should anything get lost or delayed in the post
- 9 Former company boss fined after illegal waste dumped at quarry
- 10 A505 long delays between Royston and M11 motorway at Duxford
She believed that once the new scheme was introduced it would become "second nature" to residents.
But in spite of her assurances there was criticism from Cllr Lindsay Davidson.
She said: "There is concern about this and people are angry. It's not going to be popular."
Cllr Davidson said she was "surprised" that the district council was so "upbeat" in introducing the scheme.
But Cllr Needham said that the switch in ending once-a-week collections had taken place around the country.
"It has been getting a bad press from the national newspapers," she said. "There has been a lot of scaremongering."
Cllr Needham explained that the district council was making the change to bin collections because of the need to reduce waste.
Most of the waste is sent to landfill sites, but "we are running out of holes", she said.
Cllr Needham said, too, that the Government was determined to see a reduction in the use of landfill and will be introducing penalties over the coming years on local authorities which do not meet targets.
Local authorities such as North Herts could be penalised to the tune of £250-a-tonne of waste in the future.
Cllr Needham said there was a demand to also meet recycling targets. "If we don't come up with these then the Government will be applying pressure."
She dismissed claims that the introduction of the new scheme was over cost-cutting.
"All the money we have saved has literally gone to recycling," she said. "And even then the savings did not cover the costs.
