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Council votes on future plans for waste services

Council votes on future plans for waste services Plans for a new way of managing waste in Arun were discussed at a meeting of the councils Environment committee in line with our pledge to be carbon neutral by 2030.

A weekly food waste collection remains the aim of the plans, although the introduction of this is not imminent, plans for its introduction are underway.

An initial recommendation by officers to the committee suggested that collections would change to fortnightly from February 2023, with residents at street-level being provided with 240 litre wheeled bins.

Weekly food waste collections would then be phased in, with residents being supplied with food caddies, the remaining residual waste and recycling would be collected fortnightly.

The changes align with the Council’s Vision 2022 – 2026 which includes a recycling target of 55% by 2025 and a promise to put climate change and sustainability at the heart of all council services.

At the committee meeting, held at Arun Civic Centre, Littlehampton, on Thursday 19 May, members proposed an alternative recommendation  which after much debate, was approved.

The recommendation passed will award a modified, three-year contract extension to current contractors, Biffa. Weekly ‘black sack’ residual waste collections will continue, as is the case now. The award will include a provisional annual sum for a food waste service, should it be mandated by government, to be rolled out within the life of the extension.

If food waste collection is mandated to be rolled out as anticipated within the three year extension, the council must switch to an alternate weekly collection service for residual collections. At this point, 240 litre bins will be provided where suitable. Provision of food caddies will also be provided at this point.

Details of how food waste collections would work and how the waste services would change will be available well in advance of any change being made and comprehensive information and education on the subject will be in place.

This recommendation is subject to confirmation either by the Policy and Finance Committee or the Full Council.

Cllr David Edwards, Chair of the Environment Committee said: “We are extremely pleased to see the future of waste services evolving in Arun. We aim to introduce a progressive new cleansing service, in line with the council’s vision to improve recycling rates and our commitment to our climate pledge.

“The results from the 1-2-3 trial showed that once the new system was in place and people became accustomed to it, they were very pleased with how it operated, so we are confident that this high level of satisfaction will continue when we introduce a similar system across Arun.

“We also know that we are only able to introduce a full switch over to this system once we have made sure that we have funding in place for this and that we have provided education for the change.

“In the meantime, we can assure the public that we will continue to collect their black sack waste on a weekly basis and recycling, two-weekly.

“We are committed to ensuring that residents continue to receive a top-notch waste collection service and as the changes we plan for the future get closer we will be sure to make sure that the public are kept fully informed. We thank all our residents in advance for their patience, understanding and commitment to a greener Arun.”