In January of this year, the Green-led administration of Bristol City Council announced a consultation into moving Bristol to four-weekly non-recyclable waste collections. A petition opposing monthly collections has, at time of writing, exceeded 10,000 signatures.
I have serious concerns about these proposals and I think that points raised by campaigners on this issue should give the council pause for thought before proceeding. The impact on larger families and people living with disabilities is particularly worrying to me, concerns which were recognised by the Council itself in its original impact assessment last autumn. I would also worry about the consequences of this proposal for my constituents whose black bin collections are already unreliable – a missed collection of four weeks of accumulated waste would be seriously impactful to a family.
I note that the council has already passed a budget through the Strategy and Resources Policy Committee that foresees cuts of £1 million to black bin collections. The council has chosen to put the frequency of waste collections out to public consultation so it would be regrettable if the outcome of that consultation were a foregone conclusion considering budget cuts already passed. I will continue to monitor closely any developments coming out of the consultation and will seek to update constituents once more information is available.
If, as Green Party councillors have stated in correspondence with my constituents, the ultimate aim of the consultation is increasing recycling rates then I will also be looking to see what improvements to recycling services the council proposes. I believe that increasing recycling rates is a laudable and necessary goal. Nonetheless, I think it is right that if Bristolians see a cut to black bin collections, they should also have better recycling options in exchange.
As Council leader Tony Dyer recently stated in the press, Bristol City Council has received a 5.2% real terms increase in funding, thanks to the Labour government. In light of that settlement, I look forward to seeing what proposals the administration comes forward with to improve waste collection in our city.