Bristol has made national headlines for its proposals on waste management. What are the issues and how can you have your say?
Change is needed to how we manage waste to avoid harmful environmental and financial consequences for Bristol residents. The share of waste we recycle is going backwards, meaning more is being burnt or going to landfill, at a greater cost to the taxpayer.
Local analysis, and the lessons from other areas of the country, show that a change to how often waste is collected and investment in recycling services can achieve positive change.
Residents have been very dissatisfied with the high number of missed collections; this is due to budget cuts in the last administration which led to some of the trucks being mothballed.
We don’t have a reliable, affordable or sustainable service – something has to change!
The consultation, which is open until March 10, offers several ideas and proposals. Decisions won’t be taken before understanding what impacts residents feel they will have on them. We really want you to fill in the survey, which can be accessed here: https://www.ask.bristol.gov.uk/waste-consultation-2025
Here are some interesting statistics to consider
· Only 45% of household waste is recycled; this has been static for the past few years and beginning to decline;
· It is estimated that approx. 40% of black bin waste is recyclable material – mostly food waste;
· The current approach to waste management costs over £44 million a year – £14 million on waste treatment alone;
· Bristol is home to around 483,000 people living in over 191,000 households.. and growing;
· On average, each person creates between 350 and 400 kilograms of household waste per year, that’s just shy of one tonne of waste for the average household;
What are the challenges the city faces?
Growing demand, rising costs and changing government regulation, coupled with the impact of high inflation and global events has affected the costs of energy, raw materials and fuel costs. This led to the gap in the cost of delivering the service and funding for it, which resulted in the less-than-satisfactory service residents have been receiving.
The recent budget changes, leading to rising wages and employment insurance, and the constant need to repair and replace machinery, means the cost of providing services in future is expected to rise every year – without the corresponding rise in income.
There has also been changes to government regulations with the following consequences:
· Higher charges for the disposal of black bin waste via landfill or incineration
· New requirements to expand the range of materials people can recycle e.g. flexible plastics and food waste for flats and businesses.
· Provide different ways of recycling e.g. Deposit Return Scheme for bottles and cans etc.
· Recycle more materials that contain fossil-based carbon including plastics, textiles, waste electronic and electrical equipment (WEEE) and hygiene products.
Combined, we expect these impacts to increase the cost of delivering the service, as it stands, by £8m a year. So we do need to make some changes.
Doing nothing means more cost to the taxpayer and growing health and climate threats.
Where do we want to get to?
• We want a waste and recycling service that is reliable and trusted.
• We want to hit the 65% national target for household waste recycling.
• We want to produce enough good quality recycled material to be able to sell back to the market and generate income to reinvest in recycling services.
• We want to develop a circular economy where non-recyclable waste is very low and recycle and reuse are the priority for the city.
• We want wider options for how and what people recycle in convenient and cost-effective ways.
• We will be trialling the recycling of nappies, working with Nappicycle, Green Bottoms, and a small group of residents. Up to October 2024, 60,000 nappies have been collected from Bristol trial households and recycled. And we aim to expand this trial to include a recycling option for Adult Hygiene Products (AHPs) and recycle one million nappies and AHPs per year.
How will we get to where we want to be?
• We need to start with changing behaviours – recycling more;
• We need to significantly reduce the amount of food waste we put in black bins;
• The Council must also invest in recycling services, so people have wider options that are also convenient.
This survey seeks to understand what will help households recycle more and to put a halt to the sort of waste disposal seen in the photos above. Changing the frequency of collecting residual waste (the stuff that can’t be recycled and must go in a black bin) and prioritising improving recycling collections will nudge people to recycle more.
We all want the same thing, a reliable and trustworthy waste and recycling services which can be delivered at a reasonable cost to the taxpayer.
Please do fill in the survey.
Jerome Thomas: cllr.jerome.thomas@bristol.gov.uk
Paula O’Rourke: cllr.paula.orourke@bristol.gov.uk