Barnet Council’s Environment Committee is set to discuss a long term strategy examining ways the council will encourage more recycling and reduce the levels of waste the borough produces when it meets on Monday 11 January.
Barnet is now the most populous London borough and is set to grow further in the coming years. Along with a booming population, the council faces financial challenges which have seen its spending power halved from 2010 to 2020. The Draft Municipal Recycling and Waste Strategy details how the council will manage its waste and recycling service against these challenges.
Key to the draft strategy is encouraging residents to take more responsibility over the waste they produce and to encourage them to recycle more. The council’s long term vision is grounded by four key aims:
• To provide services that help Barnet manage its environmental impact,
• To encourage residents to re-use more to manage costs of waste collection and disposal,
• To encourage residents, businesses and visitors to recycle the waste they produce, using enforcement where necessary,
• To embrace new technologies and ways of working that help improve the council’s waste and recycling service.
The draft strategy outlines the council’s plans to provide every household in the borough, including people who live in flats and above shops, with easy access to the mixed recycling service.
The strategy also stresses the importance of the council working in partnership with property developers, landlords and joint organisations such as North London Waste Authority to help find new ways to engage with residents on the issue of recycling.
The council introduced a new waste and recycling service in 2013 which saw recycling rates significantly improve in the borough. However, Barnet fell short of its 41 per cent recycling rate target in 2014/15. The draft strategy reiterates the council’s goal to raise recycling rates to help reduce the costs of sending waste from black bins to be incinerated, and to improve the environment. The draft strategy sets a recycling rate goal of 50 per cent by 2020 and to exceed 50 per cent by 2030.
If approved, the draft strategy will go out to public consultation on Monday 18 January and will close on Sunday 13 March.
Residents can read the Draft Municipal Waste and Recycling consultation here.
Chairman of Barnet Council’s Environment Committee, Councillor Dean Cohen, said: “This new draft strategy gives us a road-map to how we will manage our waste and recycling service in the foreseeable future.
“Barnet has made incredible progress with recycling since we introduced the new service in 2013, but we can do so much more. For example, we know that a considerable amount of waste residents put in their black bins can be recycled or re-used and we can do a lot more to educate and encourage residents on this matter.
“It’s also not a secret that the council faces challenging financial times and we can all play our part by reducing our waste and recycling. It’s not only better for the environment to recycle, but it is cheaper than sending waste to be incinerated.
“I look forward to discussing this draft strategy with my colleagues.”