Recycling up one year on from reduced bin collections

An authority has said its recycling rate is the highest it has ever been since it moved to three-weekly black bin collections one year ago.

West Berkshire Council rolled out the change from fortnightly in September last year, but hundreds of residents were said to have been unhappy.

It aimed to increase recycling, reduce waste, and support long-term environmental goals. Its provisional recycling rate for 2025-26 now stands at 55%.

Stuart Gourley, the council's member for the environment, said it was also on track to save £488,000 by next year.

He said this meant it could "protect essential services and use that money in other places".

Its original savings target was £150,000.

According to government figures for 2024-2025 the overall average recycling rate for England was 42%.

The council's recycling rates for 2024-25, 2023-24 and 2022-23 were 52.5%, 53.4% and 49.8% respectively.

The first three months of the West Berkshire Council scheme also saw about 1,000 fewer tonnes of waste collected, a reduction of 15%.

Gourley previously said the council faced a £1.4m bill from the government if it continued to collect the same volume of black bin waste.

It was in the top 10% for the worst waste-producing areas in the country and new legislation in 2027/28 meant it faced a penalty.

More than 1,600 people signed an online protest petition against the changes, but a greater number told the council they could cope or sometimes cope with the change.

Under the initiative, food waste is collected weekly, recycling fortnightly, and black bins every three weeks.

It does not apply to blocks of flats with communal bins, which remain on a fortnightly collection cycle.

Ian Mucklejohn, from Newbury, told the BBC he was "very disappointed" when he heard about the switch to three-weekly collections, but said: "It's been better than I imagined.

"It's made me think about recycling... it wasn't as if we had much of a choice.

"It's actually got me looking at packaging, looking at what's recyclable."

Chris Hughes, from Purley-on-Thames, said the scheme had been a challenge at times.

"If you're not careful in protecting your bin and keeping your bins clean then it can attract unwanted and occasionally nasty things," he explained.

"It's a bit of extra work and the heat has had an impact… but ultimately as long as what we're all having to do is having the desired benefit then we'll carry on trying to find those daily improvements."

Gourley said: "We appreciate that residents have had to make a change, and one of the things I'd like to get across is to say thank you for that support over the last 12 months.

"It has made a massive difference and it's not easy for everybody, and leading up to and since the change we've issued over 1,000 extra capacity bins, or if residents have got particular needs a second bin for example."